


Firewatch

by TheOriginalCowboyCat



Series: Love Like You | Miragehound Shorts [1]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games), Firewatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Study, Dialogue Heavy, Eventual Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Mystery, Other, References to Depression, Slow Burn, elliott is kinda a douche at the beginning but he'll change, no beta we die like men, self-deprecation, they're both kinda douches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:48:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 37,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23894857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOriginalCowboyCat/pseuds/TheOriginalCowboyCat
Summary: At first, he thought taking this summer job would be fun, an escape from his shitty life… the idea of spending the entire summer watching for fires that were likely never to happen was appealing, but an hour and a half into the hike, Elliott began to regret his decision.He was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and felt like his legs were going to give if he took another step forward… and he was nowhere near his destination. According to the trail-marker he passed about a mile back, there was still a day and a half’s worth of walking before he even reached the Two Fork Tower.
Relationships: Bloodhound/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Series: Love Like You | Miragehound Shorts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1466215
Comments: 44
Kudos: 116





	1. Welcome To The Job

_It had been 13 years since your oldest brother Brett died, 9 years since your brothers Wyatt, and Garett went missing, and 4 and a half since your mother’s Alzheimers started taking her farther away from you._

_..._

_Some days you have your mother… and others a total stranger._

_It was beginning to take its toll._

_..._

_You tried your best to care for her yourself, using your measly paycheck from the bar to pay for in-home treatment, but after a year of consideration… you finally decide to put her in a home where she’ll be better-taken care of._

_You did all you could, but in truth, you’re just tired…_

* * *

Elliott, if he was being honest, had no clue what he was doing.

At first, he thought taking this summer job would be fun, an escape from his shitty life… the idea of spending the entire summer watching for fires that were likely never to happen was appealing, but an hour and a half into the hike, Elliott began to regret his decision.

He was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and felt like his legs were going to give if he took another step forward… and he was nowhere near his destination. According to the trail-marker he passed about a mile back, there was still a day and a half’s worth of walking before he even reached the Twin Fork Tower.

“Fuck…” he wheezed and pressed onward.

* * *

_You don’t talk a lot about your mother, not only because it hurts… but because you’re ashamed._

_Not of her… not entirely… but of yourself._

_At the bar, the patrons praised you for your bravery and strength through this difficult time and you smiled along even though, each night you got home and cried like she was already gone._

_..._

_On the days she doesn’t recognize your face…_

_..._

_You treat her like she is…_

_And you hate yourself for it._

* * *

The sky was painted a bright fiery orange when Elliott decided to stop for the night and start setting up camp, finding a suitable location to pitch his tent in a clearing just off the path. It took him nearly an hour to get it up, silently cursing at himself for not paying better attention in boy scouts, but he was never one for camping and exploring nature. That was always Wyatt’s passion, _he_ was more into science and technology, having dreams of living up to his mother’s name in the engineering field… but, life had other plans for him. 

He didn’t expect to have to drop out of college at 27 to become his mother’s full-time caretaker, getting a job at the local bar just to make ends meet.

He sighed and pulled his gaze away from the small kerosene lantern in front of him and to the journal in his hands. Mama always said he was a good artist, teasing that he’d have his art to fall back on just in case he couldn’t make it into the college he wanted. Absently, Elliott flipped through it, smiling at the sketch he’d done of his mother on one of her good days; she was beautiful, he had her to thank for his looks, and besides her was a drawing of the in-home nurse he’d hired to help care for his mom.

The longer he looked, the stronger the ache in his chest became.

He shut the book and tossed it back in his backpack and shut off the light.

* * *

_The in-home nurse that visits your house three times a week becomes your only solace as the months slowly drag on and your mother’s condition worsens._

_You and the nurse fuck a few times._

_..._

_You’re desperate to fill the void that consumes your mind, sex, alcohol, drugs but nothing works and you’re not sure why you ever thought it would._

_The next day you both pretend it never happened._

_And the cycle continues._

_..._

_After a month..._

_You can’t take it anymore._

* * *

There was a buck right in front of him.

Elliott had never seen a deer up close before… actually, he’d never seen a deer in real _life_ before now that he thought about it. He’d grown up smack dab in the middle of suburbia, far from any real nature aside from man-made parks and rec centers. The only time he saw the woods was when he’d tag along with his brothers when they’d drive up to the mountains to share beers and cigarettes, and even then he was too focused on his inventions to really take in the sights.

He really took those days for granted, not knowing that they’d be some of the last times he’d be able to spend with his siblings.

After a moment, the buck moved on, continuing to frolic through the woods as if he were never even there.

“Almost there,” Elliott muttered as he walked past a sign that read: **_TWIN FORKS LOOKOUT, 11 Km. West_ **.

“It’s almost over…”.

* * *

_You’re coworkers find you writhing on the floor of the bathroom one night after a long shift, sobbing and wheezing uncontrollably after having finally reached a breaking point._

_They call the paramedics despite you insisting that you’re fine, that nothing is wrong, that everything was going to be alright._

...

_No one believes you, and they have every right not to._

_You can’t even blame them._

_..._

_It’s not the first breakdown you’ve had, and at the rate, you’re going… it definitely won’t be the last. The doctor who examines you suggests that perhaps it was time to consider moving your mother into a more suitable living arrangement since it was clear you were no longer capable of doing it on your own._

_He tells you to think about taking some time to yourself._

_..._

_A month later, you decide to put her in a home where she’ll be better-taken care of._

_You did all you could_

_But in truth, you were just tired…_

...

_And It isn’t until you’re in your beat-up old pickup truck, driving halfway across the state, do you start to wonder if your decision to put your mother in a home was really in her best interest._

_Or maybe, just maybe…_

_You’re just that selfish._

* * *

It was past midnight when Elliott finally reached the Lookout Tower, the moon illuminating the building in a harsh white light. “Oh thank god,” he muttered, heaving a sigh of relief as he slowly ascended the rickety stairs, his knees shaking slightly with each step, “That’s the last time I’m hiking 42 damn miles,”.

Sure he’d have to retrace his steps at the end of the summer, but that was for future Elliott to worry about.

The building’s windows had has been boarded up from the previous winter, giving it an eerie ghost town vibe, but then again… as far as he knew, he was the only one in the woods, so maybe there way more truth to that statement than he originally thought.

“At least I have the bears to keep me company,” he hummed, the wooden door creaking as he pushed it open. The air was stale inside the small dark room, a red light blinking on the wall that Elliott could only assume was to power up the generator he spotted on his way up, and sure enough, after he flipped the switch, a single lightbulb lit up the small space, “Let there be light!”.

He chuckled dully to himself, as his eyes searched his new home. There was a cot in the corner, of course, a stove and some cabinets, even a little bookshelf to keep all the books he didn’t bring. A table sat by the door and on it a pinecone, postcard, and walkie-talkie. _Damn… I haven’t seen one of these things since I was a kid,_ he thought, tossing his pack onto the cot and picking it up, flipping it around a few times, “Wonder if I can hack it…”.

 _“Halló, Two Forks Tower!”_ A voice suddenly said through the small speakers, causing Elliott to jump and nearly drop the damned thing, “ _Two Forks Tower, this is Thorofare Tower, come in…”._

“Ah shit, uh, uh….” he fumbled slightly and pressed the button on the side of the device. “Um… hello? Whoever this is?”.

 _“It’s Elliott, right?”_ the voice asked.

“Um… yeah,”.

_“I am Blóðhundur… but you may call me Bloodhound,”._

Elliott couldn’t help but laugh a little, “Um… is that like, a codename? Are we supposed to be using codenames for this job? If that’s the case, call me _Mirage,_ ”.

The stranger on the other end of the line huffed a little, and Elliot couldn’t tell if t was out of amusement or disappointment… or both. _“Codenames are not required, Blóðhundur is my name… you can blame my parents for having an odd taste in names, I suppose,”._

“Heh, well it’s nice to meet you, _Bloodhound_. I’d introduce myself but it looks like you already know my name,”. He chuckled to himself again, unable to hide the slightly flirty tone to his voice.

_“Ah, yes… it is nice to meet you as well, Elliott. So, may I ask what is wrong with you?”._

Okay, now _that_ was unexpected. He dropped his flirty tone and went right into defensive mode, “Excuse me?”.

 _“Apologies… I did not mean for my question so sound so rude. People usually take a job like this to get away from something, so I suppose I meant to ask: What is wrong?”_ Bloodhound said in a complete monotone voice.

“Wrong with me… what the hell is wrong with you?!”

A small chuckle broke through the static, _“Now,_ that _is a great question…”._

Elliott groaned and dragged a hand down the side of his face, “Listen man, I just hiked for like… 2 days, my legs and knees are killing me, not to mention my _back_ , and I’m not really following what you’re doing,”.

_“A) Not a man… nor woman for that matter, and B) Enlighten me with what you think is wrong with me…”._

He groaned again and slipped his finger of the call button and grumbled: _“I’m too tired for this shit”_ before replying. “If I do, can I sleep? Preferably forever?”.

They chuckled, “ _Já… now, tell me,”._

“Uh… you’re a crazy ax murderer who’s lying low in the forest until the heat dies down so you go kill again,” he muttered, blurting the first thing that came to mind, “Is that good? Can I sleep now?”.

 _“Hmm, not quite,”_ Bloodhound said, _“Now_ **_I_ ** _will tell_ **_you_ ** _what I think…”._

“Okay, I’m going to bed now, bye”.

Elliott was about to put the walkie-talkie back in its port when Bloodhound continued talking.

“ _Let me see… I know nothing about you other than your name. Most people who come out here have recently experienced a failed relationship, a break-up, or… got dumped,”._

“Bold of you to assume I can keep a date,” he muttered.

_“Was I close?”._

“... goodnight, Bloodhound”.

 _“Góða nótt, Elliott,”_ they hummed softly, “Welcome to the job”.


	2. Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliott's first day on the job proves to be a lot more than what he signed up for...

Elliott woke up late.

Well, _late_ was an understatement, he had practically slept through the entire day, waking up at what he could only assume was nearly 5 in the afternoon, the sky painted the same fiery orange that it was the day prior.

“Uhhhgh, fuck” he grumbled, rubbing his stiff neck as he sat up and kicked off the covers, “That was somehow _worse_ than the hike,”. His whole body still ached from the ungodly amount of exercise, but at least he got his thousand steps in... for the next few years. After yawning and rubbing his eyes, Elliott took a few minutes to admire the view from his watchtower, miles, and miles of trees and hills laid out before him.

It was breathtaking.

But at the same time, odd.

It was odd, waking up a good 100-something feet in the air, the wind gently swaying the structure. Hell, it was odd waking up in the middle of goddamn Wyoming.

But this… this _view_ , it was something he could get used to.

With a sigh, Elliott hoisted himself out of the cot and stumbled over to his pack, throwing on the first pair of clothes he came across, even though he was most likely gonna change back out of them in a few hours. He gave himself a once over and chuckled at the outfit, which consisted of a loose-fitting yellow plaid shirt with an (only slightly stained) white t-shirt underneath, some faded khakis cargo shorts, and his hiking boots.

“Fires might not be the only hot thing these woods have to worry about,” he said to himself as he struck a He-Man pose, “Damn, I look good!”.

_“Good morning, Elliott-”._

Promptly, Elliott screamed, having completely forgotten about the mysterious voice of the person that called themself _Bloodhound_ that spoke to him through the walkie-talkie last night _._ That whole experience felt like a dream, part of him thought it was, but the walkie-talkie squeaked to life once again, Bloodhound continuing to give him the most panic-inducing wake-up call of his life.

_“Though, I suppose I should say, ‘Good Afternoon’. You sleep like the dead. Anyway, there is still enough hours of daylight to get some work done. I can see you through your window so please contact me when you are ready to begin”._

He stumbled over to the device and tried to steady his voice, but it was clear they’d beyond startled him.

“Are you fucking spying on me?!” He yelped, “What the fuck!”.

 _“... I wouldn’t call it spying,_ ” Bloodhound responded after a pause, _“I was merely making sure you did not actually drop dead. Besides, I am a lookout, I am_ supposed _to keep an eye on things, including fáviti fledgling like yourself,”._

Elliott blinked and shook his head, unsure if he was just insulted. 

It felt like he just got insulted.

“You know what, forget it? Let’s just move on and pretend that didn’t happen,” he groaned, rubbing his head again, “Fuck… what time is it...”.

 _“It is 6:45 pm,_ ” they said, _“Congratulations on your 14 hours of sleep,_ ”.

“Fuck…” he muttered again, “I guess I slept in, huh?”.

 _“That would be putting it mildly, but I wouldn’t fret, that hike puts most out of commission for a day or two. But ow that you_ are _awake, allow me to quickly get you acquainted with the job. Do you see the map table in the middle of the room?”._

“Um, the round thing?”.

They hummed, _“Já. That is the Osborne Fire Finder, invented in 1914 by W.B…?”._

The statement hung in the air for a moment before Elliott realized what they wanted from him, “Oh, uh… _Osborne?_ ”.

 _“You use this device to spot, you guessed it, fi- what the fuck?”_.

“Uh… you good?”.

_“Oh… it is nothing. Um, you use this device to- oh fuck me,”._

He did his best to ignore the blush that crawled across his cheeks at the comment, “Good god- language!”.

 _“You are one to talk, now look out your west-facing window- are you seeing what I’m seeing?”_.

“Um… west?”.

“ _Use your compass, hálfviti,”_ they grumbled, clearly aggravated by whatever they saw, _“Look, look!”._

Elliott grabbed the compass from his pack and faced west, seeing small trails of smoke and sparkles filling the air.

 _“I need you to confirm, Elliott. Do you see them too?”_.

“Yeah… fireworks. Those aren’t, those aren’t legal, are they?”.

_“NO! Fire danger is through the roof! I need you to go down there and stop them this instant!”._

“... is that really my job?”.

_“Your job is whatever I say it is. The closest ranger is nearly two days away, so go down there and set them straight,”._

Elliott nodded to himself, thinking for a moment, “Like... _kick the shit outta ‘em_ sort straight?”.

 _“For the love of the Allfather, do_ **_not!_ **”.

“Hey, it’s not like this job came with a rulebook or anything! I’m not a cop!”.

 _“Just… repossess their stuff, make sure they don’t start a real fire, understood?”_ Bloodhound said, “ _do not assault the guests… please,”._

“Alright, alright… I won’t give anyone a knuckle sandwich,”.

_“Thank you. Now get going, you will likely need a rope to get down the shale between you and the lake if I remember correctly. There should be one in the supply cache on the way, the code is 1-2-3-4… that is actually the code for all of them”._

Elliott chuckled, “Secure, huh?”.

 _“Shut up…”_.

He smiled softly and shoved the walkie-talkie into his pocket, figuring that Bloodhound’s bark was worse than their bite, pun definitely intended. They didn’t seem all that bad, a little standoffish sure, but then again, he was a stranger and they’d apparently been doing this job for years, so their frustration with his ineptitude was understandable.

He was kinda a dumbass.

Which was probably why it took him nearly 15 minutes to track down Cache 306, the bright yellow box hidden in the thicket a couple of yards away from the tower. Inside the cache was a few various items, yet another pinecone (he was going to see a lot of them out here), a map, a long since abandoned granola bar, the rope Bloodhound had mentioned and most curiously, a note.

“Ooh, a snack,” Elliott chirped, shoving the bar into his pocket and grabbing the walkie-talkie, “Hey Hound, I found the rope you told me about, right where you said it’d be”.

 _“Good for you, would you like a gold sticker to commemorate the occasion?”_ They replied, clearly amused by their own teasing, “ _You should start your journey to the lake now before it gets too dark”._

“Yeah, in a second, I found this note too… some guys named Dave and Ron,” He asked, scanning over the sun-damaged paper, “Friends of yours?”

Bloodhound almost laughed, _“That would be Dave Gaskill, and no, not a friend. He is completely brjálaður… crazy, insane,”._

“Um… do I need to be worried about him?”. Elliott looked over his shoulders and scanned the tree line, “I’m not… I’m not actually going to meet an ax murderer out here, am I?”.

_“He’s harmless, I assure you, but yes- completely cuckoo, which is the type this job attracts”._

“You saying I’m crazy?” he teased back.

 _“I’m not sure yet,”_ they replied, pausing for a beat before allowing the transmission to end, _“... so don’t give me a reason to believe so,”._

_…_

_You promised your mother you’d call her twice a week once she was situated in her new home._

_That was a month ago._

_You called her once during that time._

_…_

_She didn’t recognize your voice._

_…_

_You saw an ad in the paper a week ago._

_92 days in the wilderness with no outside contact._

_…_

_You take it._

**_…_ **

_She won’t remember your promise anyways._

...

“Um, this shale slide is... _steep_ ,” Elliott said once he finally began making his way down to the lake, looking over the large uneven terrain, “How the hell do you expect me to get down this?”.

“ _With rope? And_ _it’s a shale slide, it is_ supposed _to be steep,”_ Bloodhound replied, “ _You’ll be fine, it’s not even on our list of topos!”_.

“Yeah, well you should still give it a name, like ‘Widowmaker’ or something, this thing looks like it could kill,”.

“ _It’s really not that bad, you are just over-exaggerating”._

“It’s a fifty-foot cliff made out of rocks that look like knives!” he exclaimed.

That earned a quick chuckle from them, _“Ha! So long as you’re careful, the ‘_ rock knifes’ _will not harm you. And besides, there is already a Widowmaker on the backside of Carter Mountain. It would create too much confusion,”._

“Fine, fine… we’ll call it _‘Widowmaker Jr.’_ Just, fuck, this thing is _really_ steep,”.

 _“What, are you afraid of heights?”_.

“As a matter-of-fact, I am! So shut up and let me concentrate, this thing is terrifying for me!” he said, reluctantly tying the rope to the anchor point on top of the slide, giving it a tug as he looked over the edge, feeling his stomach drop, “If I die, I’m blaming you”.

Bloodhound simply hummed in response before he shoved the walkie-talkie back in his pocket.

“Okay… you can do this Elliott, you’re a grown-ass man. You got this,”. Despite the pep talk, Elliott felt terror course through his veins as he wrapped the rope around his hands and took the first few steps down, the shale chips sliding down each time his foot hit the chipping earth.

He whimpered softly and shut his eyes.

“Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck… I’m gonna die… I’m gonna die, I’m gonna-”.

He was being dramatic of course, the rope was holding his weight just fine... but the knot he’d made at the top? Not so much. He wasn’t even a quarter of the way down when the line suddenly went limp in his hands, and Elliott realized with horror that he was hurtling down to earth with nothing but sharp-as-knives rocks waiting at the bottom to break his fall.

“No, no no no!” He screamed, grabbing nothing but fistfuls of air before he hit the ground with a sickening thud, having the air knocked out of his lungs almost instantly. He lied there gasping and wheezing, his vision blipping in and out for a few seconds as he struggled to catch his breath.

It hurt.

Everything hurt, but thankfully, nothing felt broken, just a few scrapes and bruises, “-f...fuck,”. After a moment, Elliott somehow managing to roll himself off his back and onto his knees, eventually getting himself to his feet as he fumbled for his walkie-talkie, relieved that it hadn’t been damaged in the fall.

“....Ugh, hey,” he muttered pathetically.

 _“See? It wasn’t that b-”_ Bloodhound paused when he groaned, shifting around on the other end of the line, _“Are you alright? You do not sound very well,”._

“... Widowmaker Jr. got the best of me,”.

 _“What happened?”_.

“I don’t know… the rope snapped I think, or my shitty knot making skills really will be the end of me…” Elliott rubbed the back of his head, dusting off the shale chips that got caught in his hair, “...fuck,”.

_“I leave you alone for two minutes and you nearly get yourself killed, why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long summer. Are you hurt, did you break anything?”._

“No… no, I’m fine. Only thing I hurt was my pride-”.

He laughed dully at that and winced.

“And… and maybe my back,”.

“ _Please, for the love of the Allfather, be careful,”_ they said, _“I do not want to call in an air rescue for my new lookout on his first day,”._

“Well, after that I really don’t see how it can get any worse,” he said, taking a small breather before moving forward again, quickly finding himself in a large field surrounded by golden-green grass, “Also, who the hell is this Allfather guy you keep talking about? Is he your God or something?”.

_“Já, though, I suppose you would know him as Odin,”._

“Thor’s dad?”.

_“Já! Are you familiar with Norse Gods?”._

Bloodhound sounded… excited.

It was kinda cute.

Elliott chuckled softly, “No, not really, only the ones from comic books, and I don’t think that really counts as _knowing stuff about them,_ ”.

They return his chuckle with a warm laugh, _“No, no I don’t think it does. But yes, Allfather is one of the many Gods I devote myself to,”._

“That’s cool. I was never really one for religion, my mom never-”.

He paused suddenly, both in words and steps.

…

_You don’t talk a lot about your mother, not only because it hurts… but because you’re ashamed._

_Not of her… not entirely… but of yourself._

_You’re a coward for leaving her._

...

_“...Elliott?”_ Bloodhound said, _“Elliott, are you there? Fordæmd útvarp...”._

He blinked, shaking his head in the hopes of ridding himself of thoughts that would only bring him more pain. “I- I, um… yeah, sorry. Lost my train of thought there… anyways, where were we?”.

_“You were about to say something about your-”._

“Oh, right… this spot down by the lake would make a helluva camping spot, don’t you think?”. 

Elliott could almost hear the cogs turning in Bloodhound’s mind as they tried to comprehend the sudden and abrupt subject change. _“Um… yes. I haven’t been down there in a few years, but the Jonesy Lake area is perfect for camping…”._

It wasn't a completely out of the blue topic to change to, the area _was_ very pretty, and perfect for setting-up camp, except it looked like someone else had the same idea, a bunch of empty beer cans littering the ground. “So, I think I found where our culprits are hiding,” he said, walking a little farther down the path to find a perfectly good bottle of whiskey just sitting out in the open, next to a still smoking campfire, “Left some whiskey for me to take, pretty decent stuff too,”.

_“Drunk pyromaniacs… wonderful,”._

“And they decided to leave a campfire,”.

Bloodhound growled something foreign as he stomped out the embers, _“They color code the fucking danger signs in case people were illiterate, but I see now that we never took into account just plain stupidity,”._

He chuckled, “Guess not. Hey, they left their packs just lying here, should I take those too?”.

_“Leave them, the last thing we need is for some hikers filing a report about harassment, of mikið af pappírsvinnu,”._

“You know I have no idea what the fuck you’re saying half the time, right?”.

They huffed softly, _“Perhaps that is for the best.”._

Elliott doubted that very much, continuing to gather up the alarming amount of empty beer cans until he came across the bundle of fireworks that sent him down here in the first place. “Found the fireworks, they didn’t even try and hide them,”.

_“Confiscate them,”_

“Will do boss,” he replied, shoving the bundle into his pack alongside the whiskey, something dangling from a rock in the distance catching his eye, “oh boy…”.

_“What is it now?”._

“They left their clothes out to dry, looks like two people. Um… so, what if they’re um, _naked_?”.

_“Won't that be an interesting ordeal. Look, they are obviously still in the area, so just tell them to fuck off and then head back to your tower,”._

Elliott nodded and continued down the trail to the lake… another article of clothing hung from a branch of a fallen tree.

“I found a bra,”.

“ _A_ **_nudie_ ** _pyromaniac…,_ “ they said with mild intrigue, before returning to their normal monotone tone, _“Remain professional,”._

“Jeez, you could have _some_ faith in me,” he muttered, spotting what looked to be… yup, that’s exactly what they were. “There are.. .uh, there are p- panties here too…”.

There was a small pause.

A snicker.

_“Come again?”._

He could practically hear the amusement in their voice, groaning when he came across yet another pair of undergarments. “I know you heard me the first time, don’t make me say it again,”.

_"Why because you’re 12?”._

“I’m 29 and no… I just… _there are two naked ladies out here,_ ”.

Bloodhound feigned a gasp, _“Are you able to handle that?”._

“Fuck off, I like naked ladies same as anyone,” he said, hesitating to head further toward the lake, “But… you know-”.

_“....There are two of them?”._

“Yeah…”.

They chuckled again, struggling to suppress it, “ _I understand this will be tough for you, but do try and pick your tongue up off the ground and do your job. I thought men were supposed to enjoy this sort of thing…. unless?”._

“Hey, I need to be drunk in order to get into _that_ story,” Elliott said, finally spotting the two ladies lounging on a rock in the middle of the lake, “Sorry buddy,”.

_“Then it is a good thing you have that whiskey, and the rest of the summer to tell me...”._

He rolled his eyes, and walked forward, “I found them in the lake,”.

_“Skinny dipping,”_

“Yep…”.

One of the teens spotted him the second he walked out of the brush and exclaimed: “Oh my god, is that a guy over there?!?”.

 _“Ohh, oh boy, Enjoy dealing with that!”,_ Bloodhound ended the transmission after that and Elliott couldn’t help but imagine them laughing their ass off at his misfortune.

He groaned and pocketed his walkie-talkie, yelling back at them, “You guys gotta take it easy with all the fireworks, okay?!!”.

“YOU oughta take it easy at the Sizzle Buffett!” the same girl quipped.

“Ha, Chelsea!”.

“What!? He’s just some loser in the woods. I mean he’s grody!”.

Elliott couldn’t help but subconsciously wrap an arm around himself at that comment, absently wondering if they could see his dirty shirt, _“_ Come on, I’m not here to start shit with you, just cool it with the-”.

The girls cut him off again. “Why do guys think it’s alright to just stare at girls?”.

He furrowed his brow, suddenly growing defensive “You don’t know a damn thing about me!”.

“We know you’re a PEEPING TOM! How long have you been standing over there creeping, huh?”.

“Oh my god is that what you are?!” the other girl yelped, “Barf me out!”.

He took a breath and clenched his fists, looking over to see a boombox peacefully on a rock beside the lake. It was a dick move but he needed them to understand that he wasn’t just going to allow himself to get pushed around by a couple of kids, so he grabbed and held it tauntingly over the water.

“Woah! HEY! PUT THAT DOWN!”.

At least he got their attention now.

“Come on, seriously! It was expensive!”.

“Then fucking COOL IT with the fireworks, and maybe I’ll think about putting it down!” Elliott yelled, chuckling to himself as the girls scrambled around as they tried to figure out if he was being serious or not.

“PLEASE, JUST PUT IT DOWN! We won’t light anymore!”.

He nodded, confident that he’d handled the situation well, that is… until the girls decided to taunt him some more.

“Ugh, this guy’s creepy, Chelsea,”.

“Ha! You probably have a tiny dick! Quit trying to spy on us! ”.

The other girl gasped, clearly not expecting the teasing to go that far, “Chelsea!”.

“But it’s my boom box!”.

“You know what?” Elliott snapped, his face growing red with embarrassment and frustration as he chucked the stereo into the water, “FUCK your boom box!”.

“YOU- You asshole!!!” the girl screeched.

“Light another firework and it won’t be your stereo I wreak!”.

“FUCK YOU, psycho!”

“Yeah! Fuck you!”.

He flipped them both the bird before trudging off into the woods, the girls continuing to cuss him out as he left.

“You’ll fucking pay for this! You can’t just go harassing girls in the woods!”.

For a moment, Elliott wanted to go back and keep the argument going, but he continued to walk until he couldn’t hear them anymore, unsure of where he was really going. He hated getting upset like that, he hated that he destroyed those girl’s stereo… he hated the comments they made about his body.

“Fuck…”.

Picking up a small rock lying on the path in front of him, Elliott threw it as hard as he could into the tree line.

“FUCK!”.

_…_

_You resent your mother for forgetting you, even though she had no choice in the matter._

_After your brothers disappeared, she was all you had left… you were all_ she _had left._

_Some days she'd cry over you like you were gone too._

...

_Those days hurt the most._

_…_

_Because on those days…_

_You wish you were_

_..._

_“Elliott… Elliott, come in…. Hello?”_

Elliott blinked and let out a shaking breath as he suddenly remembered to breathe, Bloodhound’s voice slowly drawing him back into reality. He was standing in the middle of a canyon alone, the sun having gone down a significant amount without him even realizing it. There was an unexpected chill in the air as dusk drew closer, he shivered… how long had he just been standing here?

_“Elliott!”_

With a small jolt, he dragged his sleeve across his face and sniffled before picking up the walkie-talkie, hoping Bloodhound wouldn’t be able to tell that he’d (apparently) been crying. “Yeah… yeah, I’m here… sorry, zoned out again” he muttered, reluctantly walking forward, “I tend to do that...”

 _“... I’ve been trying to contact you for the past ten minutes,”_ they said, a touch of concern in their tone, _“what happened?”._

Fuck… he didn’t think he’d zoned out for _that_ long.

“I dealt with those pyromaniacs…”

 _“And_?”

“And, uh… I mighta gotten a little hot”.

There was a pause.

_“What’s… a ‘little hot’?”._

He sighed, “Some of their personal property took a swim…”.

_“Oof...”._

“Well, I can’t do anything about it now _,”._

Elliott hoped they wouldn’t pry anymore, wanting to forget about the whole ordeal as soon as possible.

_“No, unfortunately not … but thank you for dealing with them, even if your methods are… unconventional, I am thankful,”._

“Yeah… no problem,”.

He continued on, making his way through the winding path, vaulting over rocks, climbing across fallen logs, and dipping in and out of the small river that ran through the canyon. It was beautiful… his brothers would have loved it here.

Wyatt, Garett… and Brett… _Brett_.

Elliott shut his eyes for a moment, remembering the night it happened. 

…

_Accident. Drunk Driver. Hospital. Ambulance. One Survivor. DOA._

...

His oldest brother was the first to go, followed by the others… gone, without a trace.

Leaving him and his mother behind without a word.

He sighed and moved on, continuing to walk for a good ten, fifteen minutes before Bloodhound’s voice crackled over the speakers again.

_“So… I have a confession to make…”._

Elliott raised an eyebrow, “... _are_ you an ax murderer?”.

They laughed, _“No, no… nothing like that. Um… I was…_ drunk _when I welcomed you to the job last night…_ ”.

He laughed too, “Is that it? Ha! You’re not the first boss I’ve had to be guilty of that,” 

_“I have been told that I can be rather… eh,_ pushy. _I apologize for being rude and putting you on the spot like that about why you came to take this job and such…”._

“Seriously… don’t worry about it,”.

 _“I… I will try to keep that to a minimum,”_ they said with an awkward chuckle like a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, _“Anyway, notify me when you return to your lookout…”._

He nodded to himself, jumping slightly as what sounded like thunder echoed through the valley, “Hey uh… I’m hearing some thunder down here,”.

_“Já. I have eyes on a storm out north,”._

“That’s… that’s bad right? Cause of the lightning?”.

 _“It just means we will be busy. Hurry home… and try not to get hit by lightning,”_.

He knew they were joking but he couldn’t help but laugh again, “I got hit by lightning when I was nine, so, I’m safe. It’s not gonna strike twice and all that,”.

_“... I don’t… I don’t think it works like that, Elliott. And I’d rather you not find out,”._

Elliott shrugged and continued on, finding another cache with a flashlight in it and some sort of antler or horn thing, which Bloodhound gladly explained the difference to him. “So what’s this cave over here?” He asked, cautiously stepping into the darkness.

_“The one in Thunder Canyon?”_

“THUNDER Canyon?”.

_“Hey, I didn’t name it. But in the cave? I don’t know, rocks? The NFS tells people not to go too far in. It is pretty dangerous from what I understand,”._

“So…?”.

 _“Sooo I say, fuck it,_ ” they said, _“You are a grown man, you can go wherever you please,”._

He smirked and clicked the radio off for a moment, enjoying the echoes that… well, _echoed_ off the cave walls. “Helloooooo!” he yelled, humming with delight, “I bless the rains down in AFFFRICAAAA!”.

He spent a few good minutes messing with the echos, singing and howling like a wolf.

 _“Hmm, having fun?”_ Bloodhound suddenly said.

Elliott jumped for the second time that day, “Jesus, I thought I turned this thing off!”.

_“Apparently not, but don’t let me stop you, carry on…”._

“Well now I’m embarrassed,” he whined playfully, spotting a gate closing off part of the cave, “So what do you know about this gate?”. 

_“It’s to stop spelunkers from getting themselves killed without getting the keys from the Forrest Service office first. Although, Debbie said she lost them years ago, so… perhaps its mysteries are locked away for good,”._

“Ah, that sucks,”.

 _“Yes but perhaps you can find another one to_ _get your caving kicks in,”._

“But this one was so conveniently close to home…”.

_“Aww, that's too bad,_ ” Bloodhound chuckled sarcastically, _“Now hurry up, it’s getting late,”._

“What are you, my parent, now?”.

They chuckled again, “ _Shut up and get home, the cliffs are dangerous at night. I don’t wish for you to fall,”._

“Aww, you do care about me,”.

_“Sjarminn þinn gengur aðeins svo langt,”._

Elliott shook his head, “You know what, since I have the whole summer to myself with anything to do-”.

_“Aside from watching for fires…”._

He rolled his eyes, “Yes… _aside from watching for fires_ , maybe I could learn a new language,”.

There was yet another pause.

_“...Are you implying you want to learn Icelantic?”._

“So, you’re Icelantic, huh?” Elliott asked as he climbed out of the cave.

_“Já. You can request to have books sent to you if you’d like. The NFS comes by once every few weeks to distribute rations to the watchtowers”._

“Can’t you teach me?”

_“Pfft! I do not have the patience for that. But… perhaps we can come to an arrangement of sorts. I will teach you one word of my language each day, and in return, you tell me one thing about yourself,”_

“That… seems fair? I guess? But only if you tell me something about yourself, too. So… what do you wanna kno-” he got cut off when a bright, blinding light hit him in the face, “Uh… hold that thought…”.

Up on one of the many rocks surrounding the canyon floor stood a scraggly looking man, face hidden in the shadows with his flashlight aimed right at him. The man did nothing and said nothing, just stood there… staring.

“There’s some guy out here giving me the creeps,” he said, slowly bringing the walkie-talkie to his face as the man stepped back into darkness.

 _“The creeps?”_ Bloodhound replied, _“Wait… is he still look at you? What else is he doing?”._

“I don’t… I don’t think so? He just kinda walked off…”.

Needless to say, Elliott quickly became unsettled, trying to fight off the anxiousness that crept over him as he continued to climb his way out of the canyon.

_“... Elliott, Elliott there is something I failed to tell you about this area. Something I should have told you from the start,”._

He held his breath for a moment, “W- what is it?”.

_“It’s… ,"_

They hesitated, letting out a small, shaky sigh before continuing.

_"..outside,”._

Now _that_ was anticlimactic.

“Oh, come on…”

_“The whole thing, people just come and go as they please. It’s madness!”._

“Yeah, yeah, okay. You’ve made your point,” he laughed.

_“Look, running into someone in the middle of nowhere is all part of the fun. You’ll get used to it eventually,”._

Elliott doubted that. He wasn’t used to this level of isolation and lack of social contact… back home, before… _everything_ , he was the center of attention, always doing whatever it took to get in the spotlight. Now the only attention he could get was from a cold, yet an equally sarcastic, person who sat a hundred miles away.

It was at that moment he realized, he had no clue what Bloodhound looked like. His imagination filled in the gaps, of course, making them up to be a wonderfully androgynous person, likely with braids and tattoos… they probably had really pretty eyes. Blinking, he shook his head and continued scaling the cliff until he finally reached the top, spotting his watchtower a short distance away. 

With a sigh he walked up to his tower, brows furrowing when he spotted something on the ground.

“Uh…”.

 _“Is there something I can help with,”_ Bloodhound chirped.

“Well my sketchbook is on the ground...” he said, picking up and skimming through the pages to make sure everything was intact and undamaged, “Outside my tower,”. 

_“You draw?”._

“Yeah - look… uh, maybe it was the wind? No. How the hell…”.

There was a short pause on their end.

_“... you should get inside, Elliott,”._

He nodded to himself and rushed up the stairs, “Fuck me…”.

When he reached the top, his heart sank.

His watchtower was trashed, all his belongings were strewn about, his door forced off its hinges and it looked as if someone had thrown a rock through one of the windows. “Fuck… Hound, Hound, someone broke in,”.

_“They what?!"._

“T- they just wrecked the place. Threw my joual- jern… journ.. fuck, they threw all my shit around and broke a window and… MOTHERFUCKER”.

_“Holy… I’ll notify the Forest Service right now. Just take a deep breath, okay? I’ll be back-”._

He tried to, but the more he looked at his ransacked room, the angrier he got. The one picture he brought with him, one of him, his brothers and their mother sat shattered on the floor, the frame bent and the glass broken.

“Fuck,”.

Elliott picked up the photo, feeling a slight bit of relief to find that it wasn’t damaged.

“.... f- fuck,” he repeated, letting himself slide to the floor.

That was the last photo he had of all of them together. A month before Brett’s accident, and two weeks before Garrett and Wyatt went missing.

“....fuck”.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there before Bloodhound returned.

_“I put in a call…”._

“...Thanks,”.

They paused, clearly not knowing what to add, _“Are… are you going to be alright?”._

He didn’t know.

_“... Have you any idea who would do such a thing?”._

“I… I dunno? The girls at the lake seemed to have it out for me but...fuck, I guess I kinda deserved this for wreaking their boom box. At least they didn’t steal anything important,”.

 _“Don’t say that. You don’t deserve to have your property (and the NFS’s property) destroyed. If it was the girls from the lake we will find them,_ ” Bloodhound said, “ _In the morning I will call my friend Patty who works down in Cody. They keep a list of everyone who’s officially been in and out of the trailhead since… well, since forever, and see if we can find their names, okay?”._

“... thanks,” Elliott muttered, “that, that helps…”.

There was a moment of silence between them, the empty, open-air filling the space between them.

 _“I need you to feel safe out here, Elliott,”_ they finally said _._

A ghost of a smile passed over his lips, holding the walkie-talkie closer to his ear.

“I do,”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this instead of sleeping, I apologies if it's a bit all over the place :)  
> This fic is gonna be really dialogue heavy since I'm deriving it straight from the game (the plot will have slight differences but I'm gonna try and keep it as close to the source material as possible). I'm not sure how many chapters this will have, hopefully, one per in-game day.
> 
> Stay tuned for more!  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated :3


	3. Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, Another problem...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this fic is gonna be really *really* dialogue-heavy...

_“Wake up…”._

Elliott looked up from his coffee and yawned, exhaustion dragging his eyelids downward. It was barily the break of dawn, and Bloodhound was already awake and rearing to go, continuing to call him until he reached over to grab his walkie-talkie.

_“Hey, wake up!”._

“I’m awake, I’m awake… what’s the problem,” he slurred, taking one last sip before setting down his mug.

 _“_ **_Our_ ** _problem,”_ they reiterated.

“Yeah.. sorry, our problem,”.

_“The storm from last night knocked out the phone line I use to communicate with the service, which means we are cut off for the time being. I tried to radio’ing out but that is not working either,”._

So they were stuck out here in the middle of the wilderness with no possible way of reaching someone from the outside world… wonderful. “Should… should I be worried about that?”.

_“About what?”._

“W- we can’t get help if we need it!”.

_“You’re tough, Elliott. You do not seem like the type of person who likes to ask for help,”._

They… they had a point, and Elliott wasn’t about to argue with that.

_“So what I need you to do, though, is hike out to where the wire runs through your area and report back any damage to the line. Then I can track down a ranger and get someone on it. Can you do that for me, Elliott?”._

“Okay… yeah, yeah, I can do that! Where is it?”.

_“You know the cave you hiked through yesterday? You are going to want to head back there, go through it, and keep going straight to the north when you come out,”._

That seemed easy enough, Elliott thought as he grabbed his pack and headed down his tower, “Consider it done!”.

_“Thanks, Ellie,”._

He winced.

“It’s… it’s Elliott,”.

 _“Yes, I’m aware, but “Ellie” is short…_ ” they explained, _“like a nickname!”_.

He struggled to fight the unease that rose in his chest each time the name was spoken, “Yeah but _Ellie_ isn’t my name,”. Elliott let his voice drop down to nothing more than a whisper he wasn’t even sure they could hear, “ _not_ _anymore,_ ”.

 _“Not any…?!”_ Bloodhound made a sound that was a cross between a gasp and curse, _“Fjandinn! Oh, Allfather- Elliott, I’m- fuck I’m sorry… I - I didn’t, I was unaware- I did not mean to cause you any discomfort, I-”._

“Hey, hey… calm down, it’s fine. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. Just… stick with _Elliott_ from now on _,_ okay?”.

They didn’t say anything for over a minute as Elliott continued his trek back down to the cave.

“Hound?”. 

He paused for a moment and waited, listening to the static that filled the quiet morning air.

“You there?”. 

_“Já, Já. I’m… I’m sorry,”_ they finally said, _“I- I understand the feeling of discomfort that comes with being referred to something you are not. I apologize deeply, I hope I did not offend you,_ ”.

“You didn’t, okay, buddy? I promise, but uh… since you know something new about _me_ , why don’t you teach me a new word?” Elliott said, recalling their conversation from last night, “How about that one you just said… um, _fandin,_ or something like that?”.

They seemed thankful for the change of subject, taking a light, barely audible breath of relief. _“Yes… let’s do that. As for the word I said, Fjandinn? Ha! I don’t think I am going to teach you to cuss, sorry. Think of something else, and I will teach you that,”._

“Damn…” He was sort of hoping to be able to cuss in another language, “Um… how about, _buddy_? That seems like a good start, a good way to make friends too”.

Bloodhound chuckled softly, _“That would be_ **_félagi,_ ** _which could mean many things. Companion, comrade, partner…_ ”.

“So kinda like another word for friend?”.

_“Hmm, in a sense I suppose. But ‘friend’ itself is a different word,”._

Elliott paused again, sitting on the edge of the cave entrance, “Which is…?”.

 _“You’ll have to wait till tomorrow to learn that. You have your word for the day,”_ they said, _“Now, have you reached the cave yet?”._

“Yeah… I’m dropping down now,”. He shivered at the sudden drop in temperature as he entered the cave, the air in here was much, _much_ colder than the air outside. “Fuck, it’s actually pretty damn cold out here,”.

_“Roger that, but it warms up fairly quick though. You said you were from Boulder, correct? I assume you get cold mornings there as well?”._

He thought of home for a moment and sighed, pushing through the cave for a moment until he saw sunlight again, “Yeah… they are,”.

 _“So… what did you get up to down there? I mean, what is life like?”_ there was genuine curiosity in their voice that Elliott couldn’t help but smile at, _“I - I admit, I have not left Wyoming very much”._

“I um… I spent most of my time with my mom or at the bar...”.

 _“Your mother?”_.

“Y- yeah… not in a weird way or anything, she’s just-”.

_…_

_She’s sick and you shouldn’t be here_

_…_

“She’s-”.

_“Drasl… I’m sorry, can you hold that thought?”_

“Sure,” he said, trying not to sound too relieved as he trudged through a small marshy area, “I’m just gonna keep hiking and hoping it warms up,”.

There was a break in speech before Bloodhound began talking again… except, it didn’t sound like they were talking to him.

_“Hæ… I don’t think so. Why, have you?”._

_They must have left their radio on,_ he realized, as they continued to speak.

_“-Okay, good… no, I don’t think he has any idea”._

“Uh, Hound your button is still down,” he said.

_“I’m absolutely sure…”_

“Bloodhound, I can hear you!”.

_“Would you?”._

_What the hell were they talking about, and to who?_

_“Alright then, I’ll let you know if anything changes in that regard,”._

And just as soon as the conversation started, it ended all the same… Elliott decided it was best not to ask questions, whatever it was about, it sounded important.

 _“Anyway. Your mother? Why do you need to spend so much time with her, most people your age have moved out since then,”_ they said, carrying on like nothing happened, _“Eh, sorry, I do not mean to pry so much,”._

“... she’s sick,” he blurted, “She’s sick. And I shouldn’t be here, but I am,”.

The line went quiet again, and part of him wished it would stay that way.

_“I’m… I’m sorry, Elliott. What is it?”._

“Later…” was all he was able to mutter.

_“... okay. Well, in the meantime, know that you are here, and it is beautiful, and escaping isn’t always a bad thing”._

“...sure,”.

 _It’d be fine if escaping wasn’t something I did for my entire life,_ he thought.

_“I’ll leave you be for now, but I will be on call if you need to reach me, alright?”._

He nodded, not bothering with a response as he shoved the walkie-talkie back into his pocket.

_…_

_She’s sick and you shouldn’t be here._

  
  
  


_But you are._

  
  


_..._

  
  


“Guess what?”.

_“What is it?”._

“There’s a bunch of empty beer cans up here,” Elliott said, finally nearing the area Bloodhound had directed him to, the bare of any trees and covered with rocks, “Same ones as before,”.

“ _These fucking kids…”_ they growled softly.

“God, how can these girls be so damn stupid? Getting drunk in the middle of the forest?! Who does that!”.

 _“Trust me- do_ **_not_ ** _underestimate the stupidity of a drunk teenager_ ,”

“What? You got experience with that?” he asked with an amused hum as he spotted the downed wire at the top of a steep hill just ahead, “Even **_I_ ** didn’t do stupid shit like this growing up, and I was a pretty dumb kid”.

Bloodhound let out an inward chuckle, _“... perhaps I have…_ some _experience, but that is a story for another time. For now, do your job,”._

“Aye, aye, boss. I’ve already got eyes on the wire and it is downed so…”.

_“Are there any signs of our pyromaniac friends? Did they mess with anything?”._

“Well, it doesn’t look like the wind. It looks like the line was cut…” he said, kicking at the rocks beside the wire and doing his best to ignore the panties they’d left behind, “...deliberately”.

_“I KNEW it the moment you said you found their trash. Those idiots are going to pay… do they not realize this is how people die?! I- I mean, what if something happened to one of my lookouts while this was going on?! And Allfather forbid there was an actual fire burning out of control!”._

They were fuming, Elliott had never heard someone sound so pissed off and… scared at the same time.

“Just, take a breath and tell me what to do…”.

He could hear them take a deep, ragged breath as they pondered for a moment what they wanted to do. _“I want you to find them…”._

He blinked, “Okay… and then what?”.

 _“I… I haven’t thought that far ahead yet… “_ Bloodhound sighed before hesitated, _“eh, that is not true, everything I think of is illegal,”._

He definitely wasn’t expecting them to go _that_ far.

“Fuck… well, let’s hear it,”.

They seemed equally surprised by his willingness.

_“Yeah?”._

“Look, I came out here for a breath of fresh air and some adventure, what do ya got?”.

 _“Well… I think I want you to find them, and scare them,_ really _scare them, Elliott”._

“They stole my sheets so a spooky ghost is out of the question,”.

Bloodhound snickered, “ _Hmm, I don’t know about that, maybe… wait for them to wander off and mess with their camp. Something to make a teenager go running home to móðir and pabbi,”._

“I’ll… I’ll see what I can do, but…”.

_“...but?”._

“I am gonna need a raise,”.

Elliott could almost hear them roll their eyes, _“Don’t hold your breath. I’d start by hiking back towards your tower and keep an eye out for anything that might lead you to them, Já? See if you can find the path they took down from there. Maybe they looked back around towards the lake, I doubt they are where they were yesterday, but they couldn’t have gone very far”._

“I’ll go check it out and report back if I find anything,” he said, continuing to follow the trail of empty beer cans until it eventually tapered off onto another trail.

It was nice finally being able to just… _enjoy_ nature for a bit, just _be_ without having to worry about any of his responsibilities back home… even if for a moment. Elliott felt… content for the first time in years, he felt **free** as horribly fucked up as that sounded. A small part of him didn’t want this summer to end, he didn’t want to think about it ending.

 _Does she even know I’m gone?_ He wondered…

 _Will she even remember me when I come home?_

_Do… do I want her to remember me?_

_Do… I want to come home?_

In truth, the answer scared Elliott… because he _knew_ the answer.

He sighed and paused, finding himself standing at the edge of a ravine, spotting what looked like a cable car running across the open area.

“Hey, so I’m near this ravine, What’s this thing spanning across it?”.

 _“That is how you get to my sector”_ Bloodhound replied.

“No kidding!” he said, “Well, let me hike over,”.

_“Ah, the car is locked up and mainly used for emergencies. I’ve never actually used it before. I know the Rangers use it from time to time, but that’s it,”._

Welp, there went his chances of seeing another human person for the rest of the summer… unless?

“HELP OH GOD, it’s an emergency!”.

They chuckled, _“Is that so?”._

“Yeah. I’ve got, uh, eyes on a _tornado!_ I gotta get out of here!!”.

 _“A tornado in the heart of the Rockies?!_ ”.

“YES!”.

 _“Holy moly_ , _I need to call this in! Tom! Two Forks sees a tornado! He says he needs an evac to my sector! ... It’s a meteorological impossibility? There haven’t been tornadoes in the greater Yellowstone region in 100 million years? You are going to need him to stay and take a detailed personal report of the account even if it means giving his life?!”,_ they said with the most sarcastic gasp he’d ever heard., “ _Okay, I will tell him.,”_

Elliott could barely contain his amusement, a stupid smile stuck on his face. 

_“Sorry Elliott, no dice,”._

“Damn… well, it was worth a shot,” he chuckled and headed down the path again, “it woulda been cool to meet ya in person,”.

They didn’t say anything for a moment, and Elliott wondered if he’d somehow stepped too far.

 _“Yes ... it would have,”_ Bloodhound admitted, sounding genuinely sincere, _“It would have,”_.

...

_They make being here feel a little less lonely…_

_…_

“There’s an abandoned pack out here...” Elliott said, looking up at the faded blue pack dangled from a tree a little way down the trail.

_“Is it one of the teens?”._

“No, it looks like it was lost a helluva long time ago,”.

_“Well, you can pilfer if for supplies if you’d like,”._

_Supplies are supplies_ he figured, swatting at the pack until it unstuck itself from the branch and landed in front of him. The first thing he noticed about the pack was the nameplate stitched on the inside of the flap: the name BRIAN GOODWIN written in bold lettering. Inside was an almost new disposable camera that flashed him in the face the second he pulled it out, and next that was a bunch of ropes.

“Damn, I’m flush with ropes now, that pack was full of ‘em!” Elliott said, using said ropes to climb down some of the steeper parts of the cliffs that prevented him from going forward. 

_“That’s lucky,”_

“Yeah, there’s enough rope here that I can just leave them hooked up, I think. Oh and get this- this pack came with one of those cardboard singles-use cameras,”.

_“With pictures left?”._

“Yeah, he only used three or four pictures,”.

_“Neato...”._

“Thanks, Brian Goodwin,”.

Bloodhound sputtered for a second, _“Wait, who? How... do_ you _know that name?”._

“Uh, the bag had the name Brian Goodwin sewn into the top, was he someone you know?”.

“ _Já. I just… I have not heard that name spoken in, in a few years… wow,”._

“Another lookout?”.

_“No… not really. He was stationed in Two Forks - your lookout - with his father Ned about three summers ago. Great kid,”._

“Whoa, you can bring kids out here?”.

They hummed dismissively, “ _No….? I am not a stickler for the rules, but they took off halfway through the summer,”._

“What happened?”.

_“I am unsure. But I think at one point they realize this job wasn’t for them… for Brian, at least,”._

“Huh…”. 

_“Anyway. So it goes… have fun with that camera. And do be mindful and try not to snap anything that may scar a Fotodome employee,”._

Elliott chuckled, “I dunno, Hound. I’ve got a lot of hiking to do: I might get bored”.

“ _Well, I’m bored as rocks, so I will keep you company while you find those girls, huh?”._

He smiled, “Lucky me,”.

...

_You barely know them_

_But they make you feel aliv_ e

…

“Um… Hound?”.

“ _Ja? Have you already found them? That was quick”._

He’d walked all but 15 feet away from where he found the pack and was faced with a new obstacle… literally.

“Not yet but, uh… Why- why would there be a fence out here, like, just out here in the middle of nowhere?”.

 _“Oh! Because sometimes hikers go ass over teakettle when on a trail,”_ they explained, “ _It is just a safety precaution,”._

“So the Forest Service would just put up a huge ass chain-link fence? And may I reiterate… _in the middle of nowhere?”._

_“… a, a chain-link fence?”._

Bloodhound sounded just as confused and surprised as he was.

“Yeah. Looks like it goes on for a while,”.

 _“That is…_ **_odd,_ **”.

Odd didn’t even begin to cover this, “Who are they trying to keep out of there… and, and why?”.

_“Biologists would be my first guess. You know them, they don’t want others traipsing on their precious lichens…”._

Elliott paused for a moment, furrowing his brows, “What the fuck is a _lichen?_ ”.

They chuckled lightly, _“It’s a type of fungus…”_

“Huh… so do ya think those girls could have gotten behind this fence?”.

“ _Hmm, I doubt it. The last thing I would want to do is climb a fence, especially if I knew I was in trouble”._

“What, you get in trouble a lot as a kid?”.

 _“More than you’re likely to believe,_ ” Bloodhound replied, _“I was quite the rapscallion,”._

Elliott chuckled as he absently kicked the fence, wondering how _he’d_ even get over the damned thing without hurting himself. “What’s with all the big words? I might be just a college dropout, but I’m pretty sure half the words you say are made up,”.

They stifled a laugh of their own, _“I apologize, I’m aware I have a rather… unique vocabulary. But I suppose that happens when you do crossword puzzles every chance you get, the words grow on you,”._

“Crosswords? Really?”.

_“What? They’re fun!”_

“Yeah, if you’re 80 and read the morning paper,” he teased.

_“Are you saying I’m old?”._

“How can I call you old when I don’t even know how old you are?”.

They were quiet for a moment as he started down the path again, dragging his hand across the chains.

_“I’m 32, and now you know something about me,”._

Elliott blinked in surprise. So they were only a few years older than him… huh.

 _“Anyways, back to the task at hand. I find it very strange that that fence is out there, normally biologists close off a rather_ small _part of the forest, not large areas that you’re describing. Is there any trace of the girls near there?”._

“No… not really, I’m in this like, burned section of the forest, and I have no clue where to go from here, the trail is pretty cold at this point,”.

All the trees around him were bare and black, the lingering scent of charcoal stung his nostrils.

_“Ah, you’re out by Mule Point. No one would camp out in the fireweed. But… I would like you to stay out there if possible, as a favor to little ol’ me?”._

“I’d be my pleasure,”.

 _“We know these young women are sloppy, so they must have left some sort of trail,”_ They sighed softly, almost wistfully, _“Ég myndi elska að vera þarna úti með þér… I used to be a great hunter in my village, you know. I would have been able to find them in no time, eh, no offense to you of course. I know you are trying your best,”._

“None taken, I’d have stayed lost like… three times if it weren't for you guiding my dumbass around,”.

Bloodhound snickered, flipping through something that sounded like paperwork, “ _I am having a hell of a time getting this fucking flapjack off his ass and out to repair that wire,”._

“Okay, now I know for a fact you didn’t get _that_ word from a crossword puzzle,” he said, coming across yet another shale slide. He got the feeling that he was going to see a lot of them during the next few months. “ _Flapjack?_ What’s that even supposed to mean?”.

_“You know. A loser, a hálfviti,”._

“Well… I guess I can add _flapjack_ to my list of vocabulary,”.

After hooking up his rope and beginning his trekking down the shale slide, Elliott couldn’t help but whine when they piped up again, partly hoping they'd forgotten about their conversation earlier that morning

_“....What does she have?”._

“Um… she’s got Alzheimer's. Like, dementia”.

_“Oh. How old was she?”._

“ **Is** she, How old _is_ she,” he said harshly, with unintentional bitterness, “She’s still alive, at a home in Aspen… she’ll be 63 in November,”.

_“Fuck…”._

That pretty much summed up Elliott’s feelings towards the whole situation.

“Yeah… _fuck_ ,”.

_“What was it like when you found out?”._

“It was… hard, but I had my brother’s there to help during the first few years and then…”.

...

_And then they all left you_

_..._

_One_

_By_

_One_

_…_

“... And then I dropped out of college to help care for her full time, but that didn’t turn out so well so… _here I am_ ,”.

He hated the bitterness in his voice, he hated how angry he sounded when he spoke about his sick mother, he hated…

With a heavy sigh, he let the air between them hang for a moment longer as he pressed on through the forest that slowly transitioned into a canyon, hopping over small chasms until he eventually found himself back on a path.

“I’m sorry to be such a downer…”.

 _“Don’t… don’t even. I am more than happy to listen,”_ Bloodhound reassured softly, “ _And we will try to have_ **_some_ ** _fun this summer, I promise,”._

 _“_ I hope so,”.

…

_You hope they won’t leave you too._

_…_

  
  


_“Do you see that?”._

Elliott looked up, seeing a wispy trail of grey smoke rising just above the treeline. “Roger that. Looks like another campfire?”.

_“Looks like. Try heading down southwest, you should be able to find a way over there from the meadow by the lake. Towards 5 mile creek, in the southwest quadrant of your map,”._

“You think it’s them?”.

_“Já, I’d call it a safe bet,”._

“Man, they really do not give a shit do they?”.

Bloodhound sighed, _“Not a one…”._

Absently, Elliott remembered his brothers were nearly the same way growing up, always getting in trouble, once or twice with the law, while he stayed at home _._ He was beginning to regret not spending time with them like his mother wanted. _“After I’m gone, all you’ll have is each other,_ ” she’d told him one day, but he shook his head and insisted that she was going to be with him forever.

He never was a very bright kid.

And it was too late to do anything about it now.

Elliott continued to walk down the slightly overgrown path that cut through a rocky outcrop, keeping an eye on the smokestack in the distance.

_“So, you mentioned your brothers earlier… what, where are they?”._

“Well, one’s dead and the others might as well be too…”.

“ _...fjandinn. I’m- I’m so sorry, Elliott. What-?”._

“My oldest brother died in an accident, his best friend was drunk and drove them right into traffic… he and the other driver survived but… Brett didn’t. And the other’s ran away like, a couple of years after, leaving me to take care of my mom by myself…”.

Once he started, he couldn’t stop.

“I was doing good for a few years, at least… I thought I was, but… _fuck._ I had a nervous breakdown that landed me in the hospital for a week, and after that, I was deemed unfit to care for her, so I had no choice but to send her to a home,”.

_“....”_

“I’m here because I needed a break from the stress, but… I can’t help but think that maybe, ...I’m here because I needed a break from her,”.

They were quiet for a long time, and for a moment, he wondered if Bloodhound had actually stepped away from the radio to escape from his whining. Elliott wouldn’t have been surprised, he knew his story was heavy, and that most usually drifted away after they found out about the situation with his mother. 

Everyone always left.

Even though they had nothing serious going on between them, the nurse had dropped all contact with him after his breakdown, even going as far as asking the agency to move him somewhere else, just to distance himself farther away from Elliott.

He didn’t know what he was expecting coming here… did he really think he’d become friends with his boss? Did he really think they’d be able to fill the void that consumed his chest, did he really-

 _“I wish there was more I could say…_ ” they finally said, _“I truly am sorry for your loss. And there is no shame in retreating when things get too difficult to handle_ , _that does not make you weak. You are not weak … þú hefur hjarta og anda kappans,”._

He let out a gentle laugh, touched by their words even though he hadn’t the slightest clue what they said. His laugh quickly turned into a sob of sorts, a few stray tears rolling down his cheeks as he held the walkie-talkie up to his ear.

“... th- thanks, bud, means a lot,”.

_“You are braver than most who come here, Elliott, do not forget that,”._

  
  


…

  
  


_You feel like you can trust them..._

_…_

_“What do you plan to do when the fire season wraps up? Are you going back to be with your mother, or just go back to Boulder?”._

He wasn’t sure if he was ready to think that far ahead.

_“I think you should be with her,”._

“I-... I’ll visit her, for sure but after that- I don’t know,” Elliott replied, “I really don’t know…”.

_“Why not?”._

“I’m not really popular back home, not anymore. After my little breakdown, uh… word got around as to why I sent my mom to a home and… I lost my job, and my- my-”.

 _“Your ...partner?”_ Bloodhound asked softly.

“I wouldn’t go as far as calling Seth my _partner_ per se… we weren’t really _anything,_ to begin with, but um, we don’t really talk anymore,”.

_“...I’m sorry,”._

“You don’t have to keep apologizing, Hound. It’s okay… not your fault I got dealt a shitty hand of life. Like you said… _so it goes_ ”. He paused for a moment at the edge of a pond overlooking two small waterfalls, and given how those girls enjoyed skinny dipping, he had a hunch that they were likely nearby.

 _“þú átt betra skilið… Ég vil gefa þér betur”_.

Elliott blinked, Bloodhound had murmured the phrase so lightly and absently that he wondered if it was even directed at him, “What?”.

_“Hmm?”_

“You just said uh… something, in your language I think”.

He could practically hear them stiffen up, _“No I didn’t… did I?”._

“I’m pretty sure you did, buddy”.

_“Ah… I apologize, I am merely thinking out loud. Have you made any progress on finding our culprits?”._

He wanted to press them a bit on what they said since it was clear that he wasn’t meant to hear it and they were trying to get out of it as soon as possible, but after taking a few steps away from the waterfall, he finally spotted the source of the smokestack.

“Fuck... um, yes actually. I just found a campsite and it looks like they’ve left a fire going,”.

_“Is it them?”._

Elliott walked up to the seemingly abandoned campsite, nearly recoiling at the stench of alcohol wafting from the area. “Ugh, it sure seems like it. I swear they must have dragged four cases of beer out here…”.

 _“Track them down,”_ Bloodhound said, _“Do not let them see you,”._

“... what a job this is,” he muttered, quietly milling about the site, careful not to make too much noise as he stomped out the still-burning embers. “At least I found my sheets!”.

 _“So that confirms they were the ones who broke into your tower. Anything else?_ ”.

“Just a bunch of teen magazines… but I’m coming up to their tent right now and-” he said, jaw-dropping slightly when he saw that the tent was almost completely demolished, the girls’ clothes torn up and strewn about. “What the fuck…all their shit is… _fucked_ ,”.

“ _... what?”_

“T- their stuff, it looks like someone went to town on their tent and it wasn’t me!”.

_“That is… not good,”._

“Yeah… no shit. Christ, this thing looks like it’s been through the shredder, what the hell could have done that?”.

_“A bear, perhaps. Or, I know this sounds crazy but a bull elk gone off it’s rockers?”._

Elliott kicked at some of the clothes and sighed unevenly, “Well, whatever it was… it didn’t hold back,”.

 _“You still have that camera you mentioned earlier? It would be wise to take a few photos of the scene…”_ Bloodhound suggested, _“...just in case”_

“Yeah… _just in case”._

Of what he really didn’t want to know.

“And you’re _positive_ there’s not an ax murderer out here…”.

 _“Why are you so certain there’s a murderer out here?!”._ They sounded mildly annoyed but also amused.

“Fuck, I don’t know… cause this is basically how every slasher film starts? And… maybe because I watched a slasher film before coming here?”.

_“Ó þú dásamlegur hálfviti… what am I going to do with you,”._

He rolled his eyes and poked around a bit more, finding a note taped to the backside of the tent. “Looks like they left me a note…”.

_“Intriguing… read it to me,”._

“Uh… it says:

_‘Dear Psycho,_

_I hope you’re feeling happy. We’re leaving and we’re going to find the police or whatever and tell them about how you creeped on us at the lake and then… destroyed our campsite and all of our stuff- and stealing our panties- ?!’_ the fuck? I didn’t do shit to them! Hound, they’re threatening to call the police cause they think I attacked them!”.

_“Ó fjandinn. Well... did you?”._

Bloodhound sounded… skeptical.

“NO! I didn’t do this okay?! Someone or _something_ went to town here but it wasn’t me, I swear!”.

 _“I told you to_ scare _them… not_ assault _them”._

Elliott felt his chest tighten.

“I didn’t! Of course, I didn’t! I just trashed their stereo and left!”.

 _“I’m beginning to wish you hadn’t done that…”_.

“Fuck… FUCK! This is… this is weird as all hell. But it wasn’t me, Bloodhound. I swear… I- I swear on my mom’s life, it wasn’t me,".

 _“Elliott, Elliott, calm down. I believe you okay?”_ They reassured, hearing the pure panic in his voice, _“I believe you,”._


	4. Day Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was going to be a long summer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless :3

Elliott was panting and sweating by the time he finally managed to patch up the broken window the girls had left in his watchtower, and walking up and down all those stairs to grab planks had definitely taken its toll. And he still had the whole mess to finish picking up inside.

“Ah, fuck… I’m too old for this shit,” he muttered, flopping down on the bottom step.

He was bored and lonely despite the work. The walkie-talkie had been quiet for most of the morning, Elliott trying to keep in mind that Bloodhound had other lookouts to watch over and they couldn’t devote all their time to just him.

He kinda wished they would.

With a small sigh, he dragged his arm across his forehead in the hopes of wiping away the sweat that would just return moments later. “Alrighty then… back to work,”

And as if by miracle… or just really great timing, the walkie-talkie buzzed to life, Bloodhound’s voice echoing over the speakers.

_ “Elliott?”. _

He practically jumped up and grabbed the radio, unable to hide the large smile that grew on his face as he answered, “Hey, Hound… ”.

They chuckled softly, “ _ You sound chipper today, something exciting happen while I was gone?”. _

“Um... Nah, I just… I have a feeling today is gonna be good, is all. A- anyway, what’s up?”.

_ “I actually have a question for you,”. _

He raised a brow and settled back down on the step, “Oh? Well, let’s hear it, what’s on your mind,”.

_ “Um, well… I was wondering if you would tell me what you look like?”. _

“What I… look like? Why do ya wanna know that?”.

_ “Because I am horribly superficial,” _ they teased,  _ “I’d like to know because I am going to attempt drawing you,”. _

Elliott felt his cheeks grow red with… something? He wasn’t quite sure what emotion it was but, he like it. 

It was warm.

“Aww… that’s sweet. I’ll be sure to hang it up on my fridge at the end of the summer,”.

_ “Þegiðu… now let’s see. Through my scope, I can only tell that you are dark in complexion; perhaps a few shades darker than myself, wearing what seems to be… ah, daisy dukes....”. _

He was really starting to wish he hadn’t packed those.

“Um…”.

_ “Sorry, that sounded weird, didn’t it?”. _

“Yeah, just a little… but carry on!”.

_ “Other than those… eh, rather  _ revealing _ shorts, what do you normally wear?”. _

“Uh, I’ve never really thought about that, to be honest… just whatever I have and whatever’s comfortable. If It’s Yellow, I’ll wear it basically?”.

They hummed and scribbled something down.

_ “And your face, tell me about your face. I am looking at you from across the bar, what do I see?”. _

Elliott ran a hand through his hair and chuckled, “Geez, I dunno… devilishly handsome, enough to make the whole bar turn their head when I enter? And not because I look like an idiot... Heh, but uh, I have a crooked nose and a scar on my cheek… and a pretty lush beard too, curly hair, shaved on one side… is, is that good? Am I saying too much? I feel like I’m saying too much”.

_ “You’re fine, I enjoy hearing you talk. Now tell me… what happened to your nose?” _ .

“I broke it skateboarding when I was 15, cracked my face into the pavement, and the scar? A little memento from my first fight… I kept picking at the scab to make sure it’d scar so I’d always remember…”.

_ “Did you win?”. _

“Eh, that’s not important. Next question?”.

Bloodhound laughed, a smile clear in their voice… it made Elliott’s heart flutter.

_ “Your eyes…”. _

“They’re brown… kinda like hazelnut but… a bit darker. Think coffee before you mix in the creamer and-”.

He paused for a moment, rubbing the circles that had formed from years of restless and sleepless nights.

_ “And?”. _

“Tired… they look tired,”.

_ I’m tired _ , he failed to say.

They were quiet for a moment, presumably still doodling away.

“Is that good?” Elliott finally asked, clearing his throat to break the thin veil of awkwardness he’d created.

_ “I believe so. Thank you, Elliott. I hope to show you this one day, though I’m sure you can do better,”. _

He snickered softly, “Aw, don’t say that. I’m sure it looks good,”.

They hummed in return, a comfortable silence hanging in the air before anyone spoke again.

“What… what about you?”.

_ “Me?”. _

“Yeah… what color are your eyes?”.

_ “Oh! I have heterochromia…”. _

Elliott blinked, furrowing his eyebrows for a second, “Um, I asked your eye color, not your sexuality, but uh… that’s, that’s good to know,”.

Bloodhound made a sound that was a cross between a chuckle and a wheeze before devolving into full-blown laughter.  _ “Elliott that- that just means-”  _ they sputtered between giggles, _ “Heterochromia means that I have two different colored eyes. One is pale blue and the other is olive green… “. _

At that point, he was pretty sure that his face had gone redder than a tomato. “Oh! Oh, shit…. I- I did not know that,” he muttered in embarrassment. “I um… I didn’t mean ta put you on the spot like that about who you like and whatnot…”.

_ “Hush, you gave me quite the laugh so I will forgive you, _ ” they said, still chuckling, _ “And- and for the record, I have no preference when it comes to partners, so you are fine”. _

Elliott felt the edges of his lips pull up, “Good to know...”. 

“ _ Anyways, was there something you needed?”. _

“Oh! Right, I finished patching up the window,” he said, hopping up and making his way back up the stairs for what felt like the millionth time that day, “Sooo, what should I do now? What’s next?”.

“ _ What’s next? Elliott, what do you think is next?”. _

“Well, you’ve given me tasks for the past two days, so I kinda thought-...”.

“ _ What’s next is you sit in that room until the first of September and call me at the first sign of smoke. Easy enough, Já?”. _

“Y- yeah… I guess,”.

Elliott clearly had no idea what he thought.

_ “Why don’t you tell me when you are mentally prepared for that task and I will give it to you,”. _

“You’re gonna have a  _ long _ wait then…”.

_ “....so?”. _

He sighed and re-entered his watchtower, grabbing the bottle of whiskey he stole from those girls. “Give me a second…”. He clicked off the radio for a moment, and took a long heard swig straight from the bottle, savoring the drink as it burned its way down his throat.

After he finished, he stuck the cork back in the bottle and picked up the walkie-talkie again.

_ “ _ Okay. I think I’m ready to tackle my long-term commitment to keeping this national forest safe from total destruction,”. 

They chuckled again. “ _ I’m glad that you have really thought this through,”. _

“Of course…” he said, reaching for the bottle once more.

It was going to be a long summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next few chapters will be fairly short, shorter than this. so I will post 2 chapters to make up for it :3


	5. Day Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Halló, Elliott. Having a nice afternoon?” Bloodhound’s voice came squeaking over the radio that sat at his side.
> 
> “Well, I certainly am now,” he muttered through a mouthful of bread and tuna, “What can I do ya for, Houndie?”.
> 
> “Eh, I come baring some… bad news, I’m afraid”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapters are really short so I will be posting the next two :3

The sunset was amazing.

Elliott had never seen something as quite beautiful as this before. It’s been more or less than a week since he arrived in Shoshone National Forest, and it was already starting to feel more and more like his home away from home. He was alone in his lookout tower sure, but… he never felt…  _ alone. _

He sighed to himself and picked up the rest of his sandwich, shoving the whole thing into his mouth as he settled on the natural bridge that arched across Thunder Canyon, the sun slipping down the horizon.

_ “Halló, Elliott. Having a nice afternoon?” _ Bloodhound’s voice came squeaking over the radio that sat at his side.

“Well, I certainly am now,” he muttered through a mouthful of bread and tuna, “What can I do ya for, Houndie?”.

_ “Eh, I come baring some… bad news, I’m afraid _ ”.

Elliott felt his heart sink for a moment, swallowing down his last bite of food as he mentally prepared himself for the worst.

_ “Two young women by the names of Chelsea Stevens and Lily McClain were reported missing. They’ve got parents out in California who have not seen or heard from them in over a week,”. _

That was… better than what he was expecting, but still pretty bad.

_ “They were supposed to mean an aunt down in Cody. If they were the girls from last week… then, you were likely the last person to have seen them, Elliott,”. _

“Ah, fuck… well, tell whoever that I’m happy to be questioned. I- I caused them some trouble, nothing major yeah but… I never got close to them. I have no clue what they even  _ look _ like,”.

_ “Well.... _ ”.

There was still slight skepticism in their voice that made a pit form at the bottom of his stomach.

“Hound… it was  _ one _ stereo, that’s it. You said you believed me…”.

_ “And I do. Look, it is not going to be an issue…  _ “ they paused and lowered their voice, _ “unless they turn up dead, then perhaps it will. Should… Should I not say anything and spare us the trouble?  _ You _ the trouble?”. _

“Me the- ?”.

Oh… right. If he was the last person to see these girls and the police say that he’d all but been sent away after his breakdown… the cops might jump to conclusions. And that was added stress he did  **not** need, even if he was innocent.

“Shit… I mean, I think it’s worth mentioning….  _ Something?”. _

“ _ Já. I will keep it vague, I really do not wish to talk to the police,”. _

“You and me both…”.

“ _ Alright… I believe that is all. Enjoy your sunset,”. _

“I will…” Elliott replied, “Do you… want to join me?”.

Bloodhound made a small noise of confusion.

_ “I already told you, there is no way for me  _ or _ you to-”. _

“No… no, like… you watch it from your tower, and I watch it from here and we both just… watch it together. Ya, feel me?”.

There was a pause, followed by some shuffling and clanking around. It sounded like they were moving furniture… maybe a chair.

_ “I am looking at the sunset now, _ ” they said after a moment, _ “You?”. _

Elliott’s face felt warm again… and it had nothing to do with the sun.

“Yeah… I am,”.

So he sat there, Bloodhound sitting silently on the other end of the line as the sky began to darken and the treeline grew dim until it became a sea of dark green, indistinguishable shapes. Crickets chirped in the grass below and a loan wolf howl echoed through the canyon. It was beautifully quiet and serene. Stars twinkled dimly above, a cool chill air swept through the area as he shivered, closing his eyes gently as he imagined them sitting right beside him.

_ … _

_ Your mother is sick _

_ But you’re glad to be here _

_... _


	6. Day Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliott woke up to the sound of his name being called.

Elliott woke up to the sound of his name being called.

_ “Elliott. Elliott, wake up”. _

He lifted himself up of the cot groggily, eyes searching the nearly pitch-black room until his eyes landed on the walkie-talkie that sat by the door, it’s small red, blipping light blinking in the darkness. What sounded like Bloodhound’s voice crackled through the speaker.

Why were they calling him at this time of night?

_ “Get out of bed and pick up the radio,”. _

“...wut?” he slurred, stumbling over to the device that sputtered to life, “Whaddaya want?”.

**_“My little boy…”._ **

“Oh,” Elliott smiled softly, “Hi, mama…”.

**_“Mijo… you sound tired,”._ **

“... I am,”.

**_“Are you having a nice time?”._ **

Through bleary eyes, Elliott looked down at the radio and sighed softly, “I am. It’s…. It’s really nice here, mama. You’d love it,”.

_ She hummed,  _ **_“I’m sure I would, hijo… I’m sure I would,”._ **

“I wish you could see it,”.

_ “ _ **_Me too, Elliott. But I’ll let you get back to sleep now,”._ **

“Okay, mama,”.

There was a small pause, and Elliott shifted on his feet as tiredness and gravity threatened to drag him down.

**_“Bloodhound seems nice,”._ **

“Y- yeah… they are, they really are,”.

**_“.... buenas noches, querido”._ **

He yawned and set the walkie-talkie down, muttering, “Adios, mama…”.

  
**_“.... I love you,_ ** **”.**


	7. Day Thirty Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day.  
> Another hike.  
> Another supply dorp.  
> Elliott wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to this part of the job.

Another day.

Another hike.

Another supply dorp.

Elliott wasn’t sure if he’d  _ ever _ get used to this part of the job. “Is it too much of a pain in the ass to bring supplies all the way up to our towers?” he asked as he trudged through the burned-out area of his quadrant, making his way to the drop off point.

_ “Well, I gey my stuff hand-delivered, thank the Allfather,”. _

“Lucky, bastard... how’s that work?”.

_ “It is the perks of a decade of service. You are hiking in 90-degree heat and I get to complete my crosswords. Is life not just miserably unfair?”. _

“You and your crosswords… if we ever meet in real life, I’ll buy you a box of ‘em, last you a lifetime,”.

_ “At the rate, I finish them, I doubt it would last that long. Anyways, when you find the supply drop remember that it is not just for you. Other lookouts, biologists, and a few others get their food there and I do not want to have to call in for more,”. _

They went on for a while about their sister who apparently loved prunes (which Elliott despised) and would eat six a day… six! He cringed at the thought of eating just one… and how she liked weed as well… apparently.

“God, I haven’t touched that stuff since high school… never again will I indulge in the devil’s lettuce,” he muttered, faced with another shale slide that he’d have to climb  _ up _ instead.

_ “Bad trip? _ ”.

“You really don’t wanna know the details. All I’ll say is it involved a pumpkin and very bad decisions,”.

Bloodhound failed to stifle a laugh,  _ “Yes,  _ please  _ keep the details to yourself. I’d prefer not to imagine what a teenaged boy did to a poor pumpkin…”. _

He was glad for once that they couldn’t see how flustered he looked.

“Shut up….”.

They hummed softly as he hooked the radio on his belt loop and began scaling the shale slide, which had become easier over the past few weeks.

_ “So… may I ask you something?” _

“If it has to do with the pumpkin, no,”.

_ “No no, nothing like that, _ ” they explained _ ,  _ seeming uncharacteristically shy,  _ “It is just… two weeks ago you called me in the middle of the night. I believe you were asleep, and I believe I heard you call out for your mother through your mumbles…”. _

_So…. maybe that wasn’t a dream_ , Elliott realized.

_ “And I thought it was so sweet. I thought of waking you but then I figured you were having a nice conversation and I would be spoiling it if I took you away from it… I do hope you are doing okay, Elliott. You know... when it comes to her?”. _

He didn’t respond until he reached the top of the shale slide and sighed, shaking the dirt and rocks out of his shoes and socks. As much as it pained him to admit it… he was doing… _ great _ . Better than he had been in longer than he wanted to admit. He was  _ feeling  _ better as well, not constantly dragged down by the woes of everyday life, here he felt… like he could finally look after himself.

“I am…”.

_ I am _ , he repeated in his head.

“ _ Good. I am glad to hear it….”. _

There was a pause again, hesitation Elliott hardly heard from them.  _ “A couple of months before I took this job I was with someone. Erin… incredible, caring… sexy as hell, a driller down in Casper. We were together for almost five years. I was working with the Wyoming Outdoor Leadership School at the time and I was obsessed with it. Þetta var mitt líf. I wished to be an instructor so badly, and I was sure I was going to marry Erin as soon as I could be bothered,”. _

Elliott didn’t say anything and continued to listen, trying to ignore the feeling of… jealousy that settled in his chest.

“What… what happened to you two?”.

They sighed heavily,  _ “Um, Erin’s brother got killed working in Gillette. And for some reason… I did not come home,”. _

“Oh…”.

_ “Erin said it was fine, and went to the funeral alone. It’d be easier solo…”. _

He felt a little guilty now for feeling jealous.

_ “And when I did come back… I discovered Erin wanted nothing to do with me anymore, so I came out here. I lied to my sister and told her that Erin had fucked our neighbor,”  _ Bloodhound let out a forced, bitter chuckle,  _ “I have lied about it for… over ten years, and for some reason I wanted you to know…”. _

Elliott opened his mouth to say something… anything, but he fumbled on his thoughts until he eventually decided on: “Thank you… it, that must have been hard for you, and it means a lot that you trust me enough to talk about shit like that,”. It was a stupid response to someone pouring their secrets out to a near-complete stranger but… it was sincere. And he didn’t  _ feel _ like a stranger.

_ “Ah, well… I figured you have told me so much about yourself, so, you know, there is something more about me. We have both fucked up…”. _

“Yeah… I guess we did,”.

He paused on his hike as he came across a small hill with a larger supply cache sitting towards the edge and sighed.  _ “ _ I found the supplies, Hound,”.

_ “Good, I hope you enjoy,”. _

“Trust me, I will. I’m starving…” Elliott said, grabbing the box and shoving it into his pack, “Now it’s chow time,”.

_ “Just yours, correct?”. _

“Who do you think I am? Don’t you trust me?”.

Bloodhound chuckled softly,  _ “...með lífi mínu”. _


	8. Day Sixty Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m glad you are here, Elliott,”.
> 
> “Me too…”.
> 
> “Good. I- I do not talk with the other lookouts as much as I talk to you. Not in the same way…”.

To say Elliott was startled when he saw a bright orange glow off in the distance, far after the sun had set would be an understatement, he never actually thought this job would lead to him… _actually watching a fire._

 _“You have got a front-row seat for what might be the biggest fire of the year,_ ” Bloodhound said.

“It’s… it’s really going,” he muttered in awe.

_“I am going to call it in. They’ll send in a hotshot crew for some suppression, but I believe we will be stuck with her for the rest of the summer. And she doesn’t have a name yet. I usually think of something funny or something practical or a little risque when coming up with them. But since you are new here… why don’t you do the honors?”._

Elliott blinked, finally drawing his attention away from the flames. “R- really? You’d let me do that?”.

_“Já. I don’t see why I wouldn’t,”._

He blushed, sensing the smile in their voice.

They really did trust him… didn’t they?.

“Um, okay... how about… how about _Evelyn_. The Evelyn fire….”.

_“Evelyn?”._

He nodded to himself, “My mom…”.

Bloodhound was quiet for a moment as Elliott made his way down the lookout tower, eyes still glued to the soon-to-be-named fire.

“What? Too personal?” he asked, growing a touch self-conscious

_”No, no… not at all. It is very touching to name a fire after someone you care for … Þú ert góður maður, Elliott,”._

He chuckled softly, “I’d be flattered if I actually knew what you said, ya know”.

He was teasing, of course, they’d both slacked off on their promise from the beginning of the summer, but he hadn’t minded… just talking with Bloodhound was good enough for him. But… he wasn’t expecting them to actually tell him what they said.

_“I… I said that you are a good man, Elliott,”._

Elliott blinked, stiffening slightly as a timid smile crawled over his lips, “Y- yeah? You think so?”.

Another beat of silence.

_“I know so…”._

Maybe… this wasn’t all in his head.

His smile grew as he looked to the lookout tower far off in the distance, wondering if Bloodhound was looking at him too. He hoped they were…

_“There is this creek down the hill from my tower, and you know what my favorite thing to do is?”._

“Skinny dip?”.

They laughed… genuinely laughed. 

_“No… I love to take a bottle of whatever I have on hand, plunge it deep into the water, and let it chill in there all day. And then, when it is so disgustingly hot on nights like this, I have something nice and cool to drink. One of the many things my sister taught me. She’d do that with a bottle of tequila near her house and make margaritas the size of your head,”._

Another pause.

_“You would like it there,”._

The sheer amount of _longing_ in their voice sent a physical pang through Elliott’s chest as he pulled the walkie-talkie closer to him. “I’m sure I would… that sounds pretty great,”.

_“It is… it really is,”._

Elliott couldn’t help but notice how oddly quiet they were.

_“Are you by chance still looking at the fire?”._

He hummed softly, not exactly wanting to tear his gaze away from their watchtower just yet. “Yeah… I am…”.

_“... I love how they look at night. During the day it is all just smoke and ash. But when the sun goes down you can just… get lost,”._

“Yeah,” he said, “I know exactly what you mean…”

The sound of crickets filled the empty air between them for a moment and Elliott considered asking if they were okay and if something was wrong… but he got his answer a second later.

_“I’m glad you are here, Elliott,”._

“Me too…”.

_“Good. I- I do not talk with the other lookouts as much as I talk to you. Not in the same way…”._

Elliott’s pulse picked up as he swallowed softly.

_“I know it had probably been a while since you’ve connected with someone in the way we have. And I apologize for getting into heavy topics, but… it has been very nice,”._

They took a short, shuttering breath, _“I wish I was over there with you,”._

He exhaled the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“... me too,” he whispered, “God, I wish you were too,”.

Bloodhound chuckled softly, _“We could sit outside… we could talk without these damn radios. We could, um… you know…”._

Their words were breathy and light... like they were afraid of being heard.

“What,” he murmured, pressing the radio against his cheek, “What could we do...”.

They chuckled again… they sounded so _happy._

_“Let me tell you, elskan mín,”._

He shivered as they spoke, “...w- what does that one mean?”.

_“Elskan?”._

“Yeah… that one. You- you called me that last week. What does it mean?”.

Even from miles away, Elliott knew they were smiling.

_“It means… darling. You are my darling, Elliott…”._


	9. Day Seventy Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this chapter is a little all over the place, bits and snippets since this is a longer (in-game) chapter. sorry, if it's not up to par

_“Fishing… without a license? Really Elliott?”._

“It’s ONE fish, and I’m sick of all the stuff I’ve got to eat. I even went as far as trying the fucking prunes and no offense to your sister, but she’s crazy for thinking that that shit is good. I spent an hour at the outhouse last night… an _hour,_ _Hound!”._

 _“First, I did not need to know that, and second..._ _how many of them did you eat?”._

“The whole can… why?”.

They let out a long sigh, _“Oh, Alfather help me…”._

“Look, I’m sure I won’t fuck up the ecosystem by catching a single fish,” he chuckled, twirling his fishing rod around like a wand, “It’ll be fine”.

_“Fine, I won’t tell anyone you are a poacher,”._

Elliott rolled his eyes and blew them a raspberry, “oh, you’re no fun,”.

 _“Það var ekki það sem þú sagðir í gærkveldi_ ,”.

For once Elliott was glad he didn’t understand what they said, but just by the tone of their voice, he got the gist of it, his cheeks burning bright red as he continued down to Jonesy Lake. It had been about two weeks since the Evelyn Fire began and two weeks since… that night, that beautiful night that he couldn’t get out of his head. In all his 29 years, he never thought he’d be able to fall for someone without even seeing their face.

Sure, they described themself to him a number of times, enough for him to put out a rough sketch but… he longed to see them in front of him, close enough to touch… to hold… to _kiss._

_“Before I forget, I keep hearing reports from Fishing & Game about a problem bear they’re trying to keep tabs on. Can you by chance search around the lake for tracks and notify me of what you find?”. _

He blinked and tore himself from his thoughts, “Are… are you shitting me? A _bear?!_ ”.

_“You’ll be fine,”._

“You said that about the ‘Widowmaker Jr.’ and I nearly died so…”.

Bloodhound chuckled, _“If you see a bear, don’t run, Já?”._

“Well…if I get mauled it’s on you,”.

_“In the unlikely event that happens, I will leave my tower, jump over the canyon, and slátra the beast myself in your honor,”._

He paused, smiled for a second, and opened his mouth.

 _“And if you are about to say_ “Oh no Bloodhound, there is a bear here about to maul me!” _I will shut the radio off for the rest of the day,”._

Elliott shut his mouth and pouted, “Like I said… no fun,”.

_“But I know you love it. Anyway, there was a crew burning fire lines out to the east and um, you know, I think it sometimes riles up the wildlife. Farðu varlega, Elliott… please, all you need to do is look for tracks”._

He groaned and rolled his eyes, “I can’t believe I’m going to leave this planet as a pile of bear shit,”.

“ _I’m serious, Elliott. Be careful…”._

“I will. I’ve got bear repellant,”.

Bloodhound muttered something else he couldn’t understand, chuckling as he shoved the walkie-talkie back into his pocket and continued his way down to the lake. He’d gone fishing once as a small child when his father had taken him and his brothers on a trip to their grandparent’s cabin for the weekend. Elliott had hated it, being all but 6 at the time, a total mama’s boy who wanted nothing more than to return to her and help her with her research, but… he did end up learning a thing or two.

How to spot poison ivy… which he learned the hard way. 

And how to bait a hook.

It should be easy enough to remember 23 years later.

Elliott hummed to himself, kicking a rock along the path around the lake as he kept an eye out for tracks, thankful that there was nothing of interest to be reported… except. He furrowed his eyebrows for a second, his focus landing on something sitting on the same rock the missing girl’s boom box was all those months ago.

“Um… Hound? Hound?!”.

_“What did I say? Do you want me to turn off my…?”_

“S- shut up and listen,” He muttered, flipping through the clipboard that was just sitting there, waiting for someone to find, “I- I just found a clipboard out here and, I- there’s something strange going on...”.

_“Are you already at the lake? What’s wrong?”._

“Someone’s written down what we said to each other… what we’ve _been_ saying…”.

They paused for a second, _“Elliott, that doesn’t make any sense… are you sure-”._

“‘ _I do not talk to the other lookouts as much as I talk to you. Not in the same way’”_ he said, taking a shaking breath as he looked around him in a panic, a weird static noise echoing from somewhere behind him.

_“Hvað í fjandanum…”._

“Hold on, wait… something’s out there…”.

 _“Elliott. You- You didn’t find any… mushrooms, did you? I know they can be fun but… also, not,”_ Bloodhound sounded worried, bordering on the edge of afraid _._

Elliott nodded and proceeded forward, over a small fallen long and back into the path leading through Thunder Canyon. “Hold that thought… I think I’ve got something,” he said, wincing slightly as the feedback from his walkie-talkie grew, “Looks like another radio,”.

_“I- I don’t like this. Just return to your tower and I’ll…”._

“Huh… this one’s red,” he said as he bent over and picked it up, flipping the device over, “Do you think I could-”.

His words were suddenly cut off as he felt a large presence standing behind him, at the same time something whacked him in the back of the head, knocking him down to his knees. _“UGH!”_ he groaned, trying to whip around and catch a glimpse of his attacker, but Elliott was only met with another blow to the face that kept him down.

Darkness swamped his vision, Bloodhound’s voice rattled in the back of his head.

_“Elliott!”_

…

  
  
  


Elliott groaned as his senses slowly returned to him, his head throbbing with dull pain _,_ which wasn’t much helped by the low buzzing that filled the air all around him.

_“Elliott? Elliott?! Oh, Gods… ELLIOTT!”._

He choked out a raspy cough as he struggled to pull himself up, a small dribble of blood dripping out of his nose and trickling down into his mouth. “Ah… fuck,” he croaked, eyes landing on his radio that thankfully still rested in the dirt beside him, ”... fuck.”.

_“Ekki þú líka, ekki þú líka!”._

“…h- hou...nd?”.

If Elliott wasn’t so out of it, he would have sworn he heard Bloodhound cry out in relief. _“Elliott! Oh, ástin mín, you’re alive,”_ they whimpered, _“Oh gods…”._

“S- … some… someone decked me in the back of the head. I- I must have blacked out… s- sorry,”.

_“Oh, Gods...”._

“I- I’m okay, I’m okay!” he muttered, clutching his head in pain and dabbing away the blood that had settled on his upper lip, “B- bastard gave me a bloody nose and a wicked headache but...I’m okay”.

 _“What- what happened? One moment you were speaking, then the next I hear you yell and-”._ They choke on a sob, their breathing heavy and uneven. _“I thought…”._

“Shh… I’m right here,” he assured them, made far more on edge than he already was by the fact that he’d never heard them like this before… Bloodhound was never afraid, not like this, “I’m right here _… I’m here,”._

_“I- I-.”._

“It’s okay, Hound. I’m okay...”.

They took a shaky breath, struggling to regain their composure.

_“Okay… “._

He smiled weakly and staggered to his feet, looking around again for any signs of his attacker but the area around him was quiet, void of any and all signs of life… it’s like no one was ever there to begin with. “Well, the good news is I don’t think I have a concussion, but… fuck. I’m gonna have a headache for a while, _Jesus Christ..._ what the hell is going on here...”.

_“I- I don’t know. Tell me again what you found…”._

“A clipboard with the transcripts of like… a lot of our conversations, and another radio. But it’s gone, all of it’s gone… _fuck…_ ”. Elliott rubbed his head as he continued to walk down the path, trying to recall any other information he saw on the clipboard that might help. “Wapiti… _Wapiti!_ Does Wapiti Station mean anything to you?”.

_“I- I’m not sure… why?”._

“I saw the name _Wapiti Station_ right before I was cold-cocked…. Is that another lookout tower or-?”.

Bloodhound was quiet for a moment, still sniffling lightly as they shuffled through what sounded like a stack of papers. _“Um… Wapiti Meadow? Maybe they were referring to Wapiti Meadow? It’s on your map, not too far from the lake,”._ The shuffling continued for a moment before they paused and sighed, _“Drasl_ …”.

“What… what is it?”.

_“Wapiti Meadow is where you saw that fence,”._

“...well, fuck,”.

_“‘Fuck’ would be an understatement. Elliott, what… what the hell is going on? Are you sure you saw what you saw? Maybe you pissed off some more campers and they came back to sucker punch you or-”._

“Hound… I haven’t seen another person in weeks. I’m positive I saw someone and they’re… _taking notes_ of us… complete with initials. B and E, clear as day,” he said, “Look, believe me, or not, I’m going to check out that fucking fence and get to the bottom of this,”.

_“Of course I believe you, I just… That conversation was from TWO WEEKS AGO,”._

“I know, and who’s to say they don’t have shit from three, four... _five_ weeks ago?!”.

Bloodhound sat in stunned silence for a moment. _“Our whole relationship. Friendship. Our whole summer…”._

“Someone is out there with a walkie-talkie just like ours, taking notes and talking to… fuck, they could be talking to anyone, Hound!”.

_“For Allfather’s sake, STOP! I am already freaked out enough, you aren’t helping!”._

Elliott snapped his mouth shut and nodded to himself, “Sorry… I just, this is all so fucked up. I- I’m still gonna go make my way down there and see what I can find… I’ll keep you updated, okay?”.

_“... okay. And I am going to call around and see if any others are experiencing anything weird or spooky. Perhaps it is best we do not make this bigger than it is… you know?”._

“Hound, I hate to keep bringing this up but I literally just got knocked out by someone. If there’s a deranged camper out here attacking people, I think the NFS should know about it…”.

“ _Já ... já allt í lagi. You are right, I’ll let the nearest ranger know to keep an eye out of suspicious campers. Hike safe, and call me the moment you find something, okay?._

He hummed and nodded to himself, pushing forward once again.

...

In an odd turn of events, it was Bloodhound who called him not even five minutes into his hike, their voice still full of anxiety and unease. _“How are you holding up… is your head alright?”._

“Yeah… I’ll live,” he said, trying his best not dwell on the fact that he very well could have died right then and there… alone in the middle of the woods without his mother knowing where he was, without Bloodhound knowing what was going on, without… 

He shook his head and carried on.

“How about you?”.

_“... I have been better. I’ll admit that much,”._

God, Elliott wished he could just say fuck the rules and find a way to get to their tower, wanting nothing more than to comfort them.

“Do... you wanna talk?”.

There was a small beat of silence, the static of the radio masking what he could only describe as another whimper. _“... yes,”._

“Oh, _pup_ …,” he said, pausing for a moment to settle himself on a rock as he pulled the device closer to him, “talk to me… tell me what’s wrong,”.

_“I- I did not mean to get so… emotional back there. I mean, I did, of course I did, you were hurt, you almost… I thought you’d been- I just… panicked. Fjandinn, I thought I had lost you, Elliott”._

“But you didn’t. I’m right here and everything is-”.

_“I thought I had lost you just as I have lost everyone else,”._

That gave him pause.

“What…?”.

Bloodhound sighed shakily, their voice threatening to break into tears again. _“I have lost so many people, Elliott. I could not bear the thought of losing you as well. As short of a time as we have known each other, I believe it was fate for us to meet, the Allfather has bound our destinies together. But...when you did not respond to me I-… I was reminded of when I lost my parents… my uncle,”._

Fuck.

This conversation was taking a turn he didn’t see coming.

_“I watched my father die in an accident as a young child, along with my uncle a few years later. I… I could not stop myself from thinking that something of the sort had happened to you. I was scared, Elliott… I was so scared,”._

“Hound, I-”.

_“Promise me you won’t do anything that might jeopardize your safety. Don’t… don’t try to be a hero… I do not wish for you to succumb to the same fate. I do not want to be alone again”._

For once in his life, Elliott was speechless.

_“...please,”._

“I-...” he choked out anxiously, blinking away his awe and confusion, “... I promise. I’m not going anywhere any time soon, okay? I’m gonna be around to annoy you for a _long_ time, buddy. You aren’t getting rid of me that easily,”.

Maybe they had a lot more in common than he’d originally thought.

“We’re going to get out of here together… alright?”.

It took a moment for them to respond, and even then he could still hear the fear and uncertainty in their voice. He knew they believed him but… at the same time, they both knew that there was no way of controlling something like death.

_“..... okay,”._

He hummed softly and sighed, looking up towards where the path ended and the fence resided. “I’m almost at the fence… I- I can head back to my tower if you want. I really don’t want to stress you out more than I already have…”.

There was another pause followed by a sigh of their own before Bloodhound spoke again. _“No, continue… It is best we try to make sense of all this before something more happens…”._

He nodded and got to his feet, a small chill running down his back as the fence came into sight. “I don’t see a way in… fuck, looks like this place goes on for acres, it’s insane”.

_“Gods, what the fuck is going on out here?!”._

“Well whatever it is, someone doesn’t want it to be found… looks like goddamn Area 51,”.

 _“At this point, I’m_ hoping _it’s aliens…”._

“... Me too…” Elliott muttered as he milled around the area for a moment, kicking at the obviously locked gate, “Shit’s locked up tight, there’s no way I’m getting past this fence without busting this lock,”

_“Drasl…”._

“I’m not sure how long I can dick around here before someone notices… and I’d rather not stick around to find out,”.

 _“If you were a firefighter you’d be able to get in there with no problems, but alas… you -_ **_bíddu_ ** _…_ ” Bloodhound paused for a moment, _“Actually- the men doing the controlled burn… they might be able to help,”._

“That’s… not a bad idea, Hound. Where are they?”.

_“Beyond Ruby River- there is a scout camp. They burned a line a few days ago so you will be able to hike right to them,”._

“I’ll start heading towards them now,”.

_“If they haven’t already left, they are probably the type of guys you would want to help you get through that fence,”._

…

_“Things are… normal with everyone else._ I called around and it seems we are the only ones dealing with these…. _andskoti,”_ Bloodhound said, still sounding skeptical and not at all relieved… or convinced for that matter.

Elliott was almost afraid to ask as he once again traversed through Thunder Canyon, “What about you? Anything strange happening on your end?”.

There was a moment of hesitation.

_“Nothing really…”._

He raised an eyebrow, “Nothing really or nothing?”.

 _“_ ** _Nothing,”_** they reiterated, _“My door was open the other night but that’s not strange,”._

“... that _really_ doesn’t sound like nothing, Hound,”.

 _“Elliott, I promise it’s_ nothing _…”._

He decided not to push anymore, “I believe you. Just… I’m getting closer to the camp,”.

_“Okay… keep your radio close to you, Já?”._

Elliott paused in his tracks for a moment, “Hey, what you just said: _Keep my radio close to me…”._

Bloodhound shuffled a bit, making a noise of confusion, _“Yes?”._

“Before I got coldcocked… I found another radio, remember? Kinda like the one I use,”.

_“And?”._

“Fuck… do you think that, maybe, someone was, ya know… um…”.

They weren’t following.

_“No… I don’t know. What… what was someone trying to do with the radios, Elliott?”._

“Maybe intercepting our frequencies with other radios or… something? Like you get on a baby monitor when you mess with the dials too much?”.

Bloodhound just sighed, wearily _“Elliott…”._

“Hey, remember what I went to college for. It’s possible, Hound… trust me. I was gonna see if I could amp up the distance on this thing the first night I arrived. If you have the right tools and knowhow… you could do it,”.

 _“But why would they choose_ **_us_ ** _, what is so remarkable about,_ **US?!”.**

“I don’t know! But I’m telling you it’s a possibility, okay?”.

Elliott could have sworn they growled.

"I'm just telling you what I think, you don't have to get all worked up,".

 _“No. I’m not, okay?_ _I am merely trying_ _not to spin out of control. Keep hiking,”._

“.... whatever you say, boss”.

...

10 minutes passed before the radio squeaked to life again.

_“I know we don’t know what is going on but, I do not have a good feeling,”._

Elliott decided to let them talk, clearly needing a moment to vent.

_“I dislike feeling vulnerable. It’s not like you can just call the police. And... I was thinking of the Goodwins,”._

Yeah... they definitely needed to vent.

 _“It struck me that if anything weird like this happened to them, happened to_ **_Brian_ ** _... just how scared he would be,”._

“... how old was he, last you saw him?”.

_“He had just turned 16... not really a child but, still sweet like one,”._

“Well he had his dad out here to protect him, Ned, right?”.

Bloodhound sighed, _“Yeah...”._

“What, you don’t think he could?”.

_“No, no... you are probably right,”._

“It was three years ago, Kid’s probably in college now. He’s on summer break,”.

 _“You’re right, you’re right,_ ” they continued...

But it didn’t sound like they believed him.

...

“You ever... talk to any of the scouts?”.

_“They haven’t been out there in some time. And I do not usually have a lot to say to pre-teens,”._

“Unless it’s Brian Goodwin,”.

Bloodhound paused for a moment.

_“... I suppose,”._

_..._

“Shit. Yeah, these guys are gone. I found where they were sitting around before getting picked up,”.

_“Damn...”._

“But, good news is I found something to help me get through that damn fence,” Elliott said, gleefully pulling the fireman’s ax that was lodged in a nearby tree.

_“Good,”_

“And...” he almost didn't want to say anything more, but... he didn’t want to leave them in the dark, “I found like, a memo from their boss,”.

He could hear Bloodhound cuss under their breath, throwing in some new ones he hadn’t heard before. “ _Does it say anything of note?”._

“Just that they’re dropping into the Thorofare for the next few days on behalf of Dr. Simmons at- _Wapiti Station”._

They repeated the word back to him, sounding equally startled.

“Holy shit...”.

_“K- Keep reading!”._

“Oh, I just thought I would maybe stop there. Let the mystery hang for a bit longer,”.

They let out a light laugh, but a laugh nonetheless, _“My mother always told me that I would meet someone who would give me a taste of my own medicine...”._

“Looks like they’re running a research site out there. He was worried about the wildfires,”.

_“Someone is writing down our conversations, and now we find out there is a research site out here that we are unaware of? What... what are they researching?”._

“... Us,”.

_“You... you truly think they are studying you and I?”._

That was the only logical explanation he could think of.

“Maybe it’s about studying two strangers who talk every day without, ya know... seeing each other. Some kind of fucked up social experiment or something,”.

_“FUCK THAT,”._

“Agreed!”.

_“I- I think we should allow dor the possibility that this is a big misunderstanding, but... if you saw what you saw... fuck, Elliott,”._

“Yeah, I know what I saw,”.

_“Well... what now?”._

“I’ve got an ax now, so getting into that place should be easy,”.

_“Make your way over... this ends tonight,”._

_..._

_“Are you there?”._

He hadn’t even gone two feet.

_“I had a thought,”._

“Shoot...”.

_“You... heard someone in the bushes”._

He nodded, “Yeah...”.

_“Okay, so let us assume we are being tailed. Or you are, at least. Where are you right now?”._

“Um... middle of nowhere? Pork Pond I think you called it, the place where you said someone kept stealing the sign?”.

_“Okay... do you see anyone?”._

“No. I haven’t seen anyone for weeks,”.

Bloodhound sighed and shifted closer to their mic. _“Alright, so tell me what you think of this-”._

  
  
  
  


Whatever they were going to say, it was drowned out by the sudden sound of someone sputtering on air, coughing, and hacking through the grainy static.

  
  
  
  


Elliott paused ankle-deep in mud.

  
  
  


_“...did, did you just cough?”._

  
  


He swallowed the lump in his throat.

  
  


“No...”.

A beat of silence passed.

  
  


“You?”.

  
  


_“No...”._

  
  


_“Fuck”_


	10. Day Seventy Seven: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are there any other lookouts this is happening to? Someone else in on this? Anyone?” He asked.
> 
> “No… this is just happening to the two of us. Everyone else is fine…”.
> 
> There was a pause.
> 
> "It's only us..."

Elliott felt like he was losing his mind. He might as well be, the last 20 hours had sent him into a panic that kept him up for most of the night, and Bloodhound failing to answer their radio wasn’t helping at all. 

“Thorofare tower, this is Two Forks, calling you for the oh, I don’t know… _hundredth time_ today?” he said, finally deciding to say fuck it and ignore their instructions to wait until they called him. It had been nearly a whole day since he’d last heard from them and he was sick of waiting despite their last words to him ringing in his head

**_“Get in your tower. Shut the door. Do not leave and do not use your radio. I’ll call you. Understand? I will call you,”_ **

“The Evelyn Fire continues to move in a southerly fashion…” he continued.

Still, nothing but dead, quiet air.

Elliott was seriously considering saying fuck it and using the pulley cart over by the ravine to go check their lookout tower himself.

“Bloodhound, for fuck’s sake, answer your radio,”.

After a few brief moments, the radio finally, _finally_ squeaked to life.

_“Helloooo krúttið mitt! I apologize, I went out for a bit. What can I do for you?”_

He blinked and furrowed his brow, “I didn’t sleep a wink last night and I’ve been going crazy for the past 6 hours of sun-up. How the fuck are you so chipper?”.

_“Well, it is a new day. What a day, this day we have been given,”._

They.... sounded like a hostage, and Elliott forced the thought from his head that maybe whoever had been spying on them had somehow made it to their tower. He didn’t think himself capable of murder, but… if this creep so much as laid a finger on them.

“You know what? Maybe I’m actually asleep right now. Maybe I didn’t stay up all night knowing that someone is-”.

_“I slept just great!”._

“Uh… okay?”. 

Definitely a hostage situation.

Elliott was ready to grab his pack when they spoke again.

_“By the way. I was wondering if by chance your Flora of the Shoshone info poster was still up in your tower?”._

He blinked again and shook his head in disbelief, “...What?”.

_“It is… protocol that those stay up, you know? Info about your tower, the surrounding tree species, etc…”._

Had they gone crazy?

Was last night’s ordeal enough to make them snap?

Was _he_ crazy?

“Uh… alright?”.

_“Just… go have a look at it. Eh, this… this is a mandatory tower check! Surprise!”._

“A mandatory- When the hell has that been a-”.

_“Just look at the damn poster, Elliott,”._

Okay, now _that_ sounded like his Bloodhound. With a semi-relieved sigh, Elliott walked over to the poster they described. “I’m looking at it, it’s up and it’s perfectly untouched. Why are you acting like this? Are you okay?”.

They ignored the question because _of course,_ they did.

_“I’m wonderful… just wonderful. Now, do you see the tree in the top row, second from the left?”._

“Sure?” he replied, staring blankly at the picture of the tree, “It’s the uh-”.

Bloodhound cut him off before he could finish.

_“NO. You do not need to tell me. Just um, internalize it. It is a great tree. And there is an area called, uh… that tree’s name is in your sector that maybe you should take a mid-day hike to. Maybe…”._

He looked at the poster, then down at his map, and back again.

_Oh…_

_Oh!_

He saw what was going on _._

“Yeah. Okay. Maybe I should go for a hike…”.

Damn, they were smart.

Bloodhound made a sound of agreement, _“Radio me the moment you get there,”_.

He nodded and threw his pack over his shoulder and headed out the door.

...

After a 30 minute hike, Elliott found himself at Cottonwood Creek, the marshy area home to what he could only assume was Cottonwood trees. Thankfully, he seemed to be the only one there, meaning that whoever tapped into his radio didn’t have the same poster he did. But that didn’t stop him from obsessively checking over his shoulder every few feet.

“Okay, I’m here,” he said, softly, “I’m at Cottonwood Creek”.

 _“Do you see the cache box there?”_ Bloodhound asked _._

“Uh… yeah, it’s right here,” He pocketed the radio for a moment and unlocked the cache… or, at least tried to, “Hey, it’s not unlocking, what gives?”.

_“That is because I changed the code. It’s 5-6-7-8…”._

“... really? Are you kidding?”.

_“I was in a rush!”._

He rolled his eyes and forced a smile, feeling small a bit of tension melt away from his shoulders as he tried the new code and popped open the cache. But he knew that the feeling wouldn’t last long, and sure enough, when he opened the cache, he was reminded of the situation at hand.

Inside was a radio, brand new and untouched.

He grabbed it anxiously and chucked the old one into the box, shutting the lid with a loud thud that echoed through the meadow _._

“I’ve got it now,”.

 _“Good. I spent all day getting you that radio,_ ” they said with a sigh, settling back in their chair, _“I hiked a cache box, lied to a ranger, lied to ANOTHER ranger, and hopefully you are now the proud owner of a clean untapped radio,”._

He chuckled bitterly, “... hopefully,”.

He didn’t like how they said “ _hopefully”._

 _“Holy fuck, Elliott. We- we_ need _to get into that site. We need to find out what the fuck is going on!”._

Now Elliott could hear the terror in their voice, how unnerved all this shit has made them. At the very least he was glad he wasn’t facing this alone… he’d have lost his mind at the first sight of danger… but, he wasn’t entirely convinced he hadn’t already.

“What the fuck is going on?!?” he exclaimed with a shaking breath, beginning to wander aimlessly down the path leading out of the meadow, “People are fucking listening to us?”.

_“I don’t know… but it would seem that way,”._

“Our radios are tapped?! Are you fucking serious!”

_“Yes, that is why I left you the one you just got,”_

“H- how is this even possible? I mean… I’ve had my radio on me since… since… fuck, since I got here!”. He really didn’t want to entertain the idea that maybe the creep had somehow broken into _his_ tower and messed with the radio while he slept, oblivious to everything,” What the fuck is going on…”.

 _“I don’t_ **_know_ ** _, Elliott…”._

“What _do_ you know? If this is some fucking… elaborate prank you guys pull on new lookouts it’s not fucking funny anymore,”.

 _“I wouldn’t do that to you,”_ they all but hissed, clearly offended by the accusation… but their voice softened a moment later, growing timid and shy, unlike the witty and sarcastic person he had grown to know over the course of the summer, _“But all I know is… is that I am scared. I’m scared, Elliott,”._

In turn, Elliott softened his voice and sighed.

“Are there any other lookouts this is happening to? Someone else in on this? Anyone?”.

_“No… this is just happening to the two of us. Everyone else is fine…”._

“...Are you sure?”.

 _“Yes, Elliott. I have tried bringing it up to Chimney Rock, Elk’s Fork, and Beartooth lookout but… every one of them got confused, asked me if I was okay and if I needed to be relieved and-”_ Bloodhound’s voice trailed off for a moment, dissolving into a pitiful, empty laugh, _“They think I’m crazy…”._

A soft growl followed soon after.

 _“Our state coordinator wrote it off as me_ “having an episode” _, the fucking bastard… so no, this is not happening to anyone else. And I am done asking…”._

He sighed again and continued on, finding himself following the path that led back to the mysterious gate. “Well, I’m headed back to the gate and now that I’ve got an axe, we’ll know something soon…”.

_“Be careful… and call me the moment you find something. Anything…”._

_…_

_“Elliott? Uh, I… I just thought of something not… not great,”._

He did his best to ignore the sinking feeling that grew in his chest as he brought the radio closer to his face, “Go on…”.

They sighed heavily, _“I filed a report saying that neither of us had seen, or even talked to those girls… the ones that went missing a few weeks back,”._

He blinked, furrowing his brows, “I’m not following…”.

There was a long, pregnant pause that sent a chill through his whole body.

_“Our radios were tapped the entire time we talked about it. Maybe even your first day when you had your run-in with them…”._

That was enough to get him to halt in his steps.

“Oh… oh no,”.

_“Oh yes…”_

“Someone… someone probably has an entire transcript of that conversation,”.

 _“And… I filed a report that is a… a blatant_ **_lie_ ** _,”._

Fuck… 

This was bad… this was _really_ bad.

“And those girls are still missing,”.

They simply hummed.

“Fuck, Bloodhound…”,

 _“I don’t think “_ Fuck” _even begins to cover how…_ **_fucked_ ** _this all is. We need to get to the bottom of this… tonight, for real this time”._

_…_

Seeing the fence again was… utterly unnerving. And Elliott did all he could to try and stop the constant, incessant shaking of his hands as he wielded the axe and swung it at the lock. It gave way without much effort, the thing that kept them from discovering the secrets and mysteries of whatever the hell was going on laid busted and broken on the dirt path.

“I smashed the gate open. Should I, like… try and fix or hide this or…”.

_“Fuck it…”._

Bloodhound sounded so… done, with everything. Their voice was almost void of emotion which that in itself was unnerving as well.

“Okay then,”.

Cautiously he pushed forward, the area barren of nothing but a few scraggly trees and dry brush. Well, that wasn’t exactly true… near the entrance of the gate stood a small cupboard thing that was likely left to house memos and notes to… _whoever_ worked. Sure enough, when Elliott opened it, inside was a clipboard… and another unexpected surprise.

“OW!” he hissed, smacking the bee that had flown from the box and stung him in the arm, silently cursing as he tossed the clipboard at it for good measure, “Hey, Hound? I- I got stung by a bee…”.

There was a pause.

_“... okay?”._

Another pause.

_“Is that it?”,_

He nodded and rubbed his arm, “Yeah”.

_“... are you allergic?”._

“No… I don’t think so,”.

He then realized how stupid it was to call over a bee sting.

“Sorry… I- I don’t know why I called that in but I’m going to shut up now,”.

That earned a small chuckle.

_“Try not to get stung again, elskan. Keep looking for… well, anything,”._

“I uh… I don’t think I need to look anymore,” Elliott mumbled, walking farther down the path as he squinted his eyes and looked up at a large antenna shimmering in the fading sunlight, “I found… _stuff,_ ”.

_“Are you alone?”._

“Looks like… fuck, this is some serious comms equipment… wireless stuff _,”._

_“What… what do you mean?”._

“I’m talking about a big, 20-foot tall transmission tower. They can probably listen to whoever the hell they want. And they’re nestled down in the valley so it makes it nearly impossible for you or any of the lookouts to see them”.

_“... what the fuck,”._

“My sentiments exactly…”.

Elliott continued down the path until he came upon a campsite… chock-full an abundance of gear and equipment for… who knows what. “I might be like… good at engineering and shit but I have no clue what half of these contraptions are…”.

 _“Describe them… maybe I can help?”_ Bloodhound said, adding softly, _“though, I will admit… aside from the radios, technology has never been my forte…”._

“It’s like… dishes, stuff on metal legs and there are wires all over the place… this is some really new-age looking shit… I’m going to take some pictures just in case no one believes us,”. As he dared venture further into the camp, the feeling of dread from hours earlier returned… whoever was out here watching them, they weren’t messing around. They had a decent stockpile of food that, if not for the fence, would definitely attract bears... and hundreds upon hundreds of files and other gizmos and gadgets. “Okay… I’m inside the main tent,”.

_“What is it like?”._

“It’s definitely some kind of monitoring station… where, where do you think everyone is? This place looks like… like everyone just up and left. All their shit is still here and running from what I can see,”.

_“I don’t know, but they likely know that you are there, so see what you can find and get out. I don’t… I don’t like the idea of you out there alone,”._

A ghost of a smile passed over his lips as he walked up to a table with piles and piles of paper strewn about through it, “I know… I think I’ve got something here, though, so don’t worry, I’m going to dip as soon as I have a lick of evidence someone is fucking with us…”.

_“Oh Gods, what is it? What do you see? At, at this point, I would believe anything”._

“Still a lot of machines and shit, some notes too… god this place is like a spaceship,”.

 _“I would feel a hell of a lot happier if this_ was _NASA’s doing…”._

“You and me both…” Elliott said as he picked up another clipboard and sighed, flipping through the pages with rising anxiety, “Shit…”.

_“What?”._

“Well, it’s not NASA… and we are being tracked, I just found their notes confirming it. The log says they’re tracking four different subjects...”.

_“You, me and…?”._

“I don’t know, maybe the missing girls? They’re the only other two that are kinda wrapped up in this whole mess,”.

_“Like, they are still out here and these people are just… following them?”._

He shrugged, “Maybe? I mean, it’s possible, right?”.

_“You would have seen them by now…”._

“I- I don’t know, Hound. I really don’t know…”.

They sighed heavily and cussed in their language, a fair bit of shuffling and muttering. _“Just… fjandinn, we will talk this over and figure out how the hell to get out of here, and you are POSITIVE they are talking about us… about you?”._

Elliott grumbled and wandered over to a bin that was flashing an ominous red, curiosity getting the best of him, “Um, some of their descriptions seem like uncharitable ways of describing me, so… yeah,”.

_“Then they know nothing, you are perfect, elskan. These men are fífl… idiots”._

“Aw, thanks, Houndie,” he said, flipping the bin’s lid open and finding a… _thing_ in it. _Wave Receiver_ the bin said, with instructions on _how_ to use the thing written right in front to him, so needless to say he picked it up and began fiddling with it, jumping back when the device began letting out an incessant beeping that didn’t stop, “Uh… okay, this thing is losing its mind, beeping like crazy”.

_“Drasl, I can hear it… why is it beeping, what’s it after?”_

“I’ll let you know… but whatever it is it’s close,”.

He aimed the thing around the tent until the beeping grew stronger and lead him back to the table he was just at, it was clear he’d missed something among the mess of papers. Sure enough, after clearing the desk of most of its contents, Elliott found a- black box which he switched off, stopping the horrible beeping from continuing.

And something else that sent a pit into the bottom of his stomach.

A binder.

With the names: Elliott and… and _Bloodhound_ written on the front.

He flipped through it.

“Are you shitting me…”.

With slight panic in their voice, Bloodhound said, _“Elliott, what, what is it?”._

“T- there’s a folder full of reports here… assessments, about the two of us. There’s stuff about my mom-”.

_“Like what…”._

“Stuff I didn’t tell you! This is…”.

He felt dizzy, sick to his stomach almost.

_“What does it say about me? You said there was one about me,”._

They were panicking now, it was clear… but Elliott was too caught up in his own head to really notice.

“And it looks like they’ve been following me around. What I do when I’m out hiking. Fuck!”.

_“Elliott, do you hear me?!”._

“... It says that you and Erin are still together,”.

 _“What?! We are_ **_not_ ** _! They’re messing with us!”._

“Yeah… okay,” he couldn’t hide the bitterness in his words as much as he wanted to… but everything looked so… _official_. He wasn’t quite sure who to believe…

 _“They are. How do they even know who he is?! How the hell does this- ?!”_ Bloodhound’s words were cut off by a frustrated yelp that sent feedback through the radio, _“I am so_ **_sick_ ** _of these bastards doing this to us! We should just burn the place down!”._

That snapped him back to reality, a look of utter shock crowding his features, “Please tell me you aren’t serious…”.

They simply huffed and replied: _“Dead,”._

“Hound… what if that’s what they want us to do.”

_“What do you mean…”_

He brushed the hair from his eyes, and sighed, “Maybe they’re trying to push us to the point of doing something crazy? The grass down here is dry as hell, this place would go up in a second…”.

There was a pause, one longer than he felt comfortable with.

 _“Well, now-”_ they finally began, _“Now I am thinking… what if you’re correct,”._

“We’re supposed to be out here _watching_ fires… not _starting_ them. We already have one tearing this place up, we don’t need another,”.

They grumbled again, _“Bah! I’m so fucking wound up!”._

“It’s alright. I’m just… I’m just going to take these papers, and hike back. We have this… wave receiver thing and tomorrow we can figure out what to do, okay?”.

_“Okay…”._

Elliott grabbed the papers and turned tail, wanting to get out of there and back into the safety of his tower as soon as he could. In truth, he hated hiking at night, at always made him feel uneasy... like he was being watched… and well, tonight confirmed his suspicions and paranoia. He pushed that thought aside and continued on until he reached the peak of the hill where the fence began, looking over the valley where-

 _“_ Oh… shit, Hound… um, there’s smoke coming from the site. I just climbed out of there and-”.

They cut him off.

 _“What the hell happened to “WE ARE SUPPOSED TO_ **_WATCH_ ** _FIRES, NOT START THEM?!”._

“It wasn’t me! Fuck, Hound I don’t even own a lighter!”.

Bloodhound yelled and cussed some more, _“FUCK! What do we do?”._

“We call it in, same as every other fire,” he continued, continuing on towards his tower while trying to ignore the angry crackling of the fire roared behind him.

_“What about who started it? What about them?!”._

“The p- the person who started it?”.

_“Yes…”._

“Bloodhound, we’re talking about people watching us out here who are now burning the forest and everything in it around us. I don’t know what to do about that,”.

More cursing ensued before they finally lowered their voice, seeming to have gotten most of their anger out, _“All except get out of here,”._

Now that, he could agree on.

“Yes, get us the hell out of here,”.

_“I will, Elliott. I will,”._


	11. Day Seventy Seven: Pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He sat there for a while, pondering on what he was going to do when Bloodhound finally managed to get them a ride out of this hellhole… they had talked about meeting up at the end of the summer, meeting each other face to face for the first time. They’d even expressed interest in coming back to Boulder with him, meeting his mother… actually dating. It was a small solace in the hell that was these last few days.

There was no use going to sleep, Elliott decided… his head was still reeling from all the information he’d learned in the past few hours… days, weeks. And now there was  _ another  _ fire to worry about,  _ The Wapiti Meadow Fire _ as he’d taken to calling it, Bloodhound being too bitter and too tired to give too much of a shit. It had been an hour or so since the fire had been called in, and they’d stayed completely quiet the entire time, the sound of empty, static-filled silence filling his tower. Elliott, however, had tried to keep himself occupied by compiling all the evidence they’d come across so far. It wasn’t much and… he was sure that whoever was listening in on them had far more evidence on  _ them. _

“...fuck,” he muttered, dragging his hands across the scruff of his beard.

He really…  _ really _ didn’t want to think about it any more than he had to, being stalked and reported on like a fucking animal was enough for him to worry.

With a heavy sigh, Elliott closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, hoping for his radio to squeak to life and end the agonizing silence that plagued him. He sat there for a while, pondering on what he was going to do when Bloodhound finally managed to get them a ride out of this hellhole… they had talked about meeting up at the end of the summer, meeting each other face to face for the first time. They’d even expressed interest in coming back to Boulder with him, meeting his mother…  _ actually dating _ . It was a small solace in the hell that was these last few days.

A loud, sudden beeping tore him from his pleasant thoughts, causing him to jump and fall back in his chair. He hit the floor with a thud, grunting in discomfort as he realized the wave receiver he’d picked up earlier was going haywire again. “Oh, now what?” Elliott grumbled as he picked himself up iff the ground and rubbed his head, grabbing the radio, “uh, this receiver just picked something up, Hound?”.

Surprisingly, they answered fairly quickly.

_ “Eh, wha- what thingy? What now?”. _

“I found this thing that picks up frequencies. It’s how I found the reports last night and it’s going off now,”.

“ _ It just picked up a freq- frequency?”  _ they slurred slightly, a hiccup cutting them off mid-word.

“Yeah… um, what do ya think it could be?”.

“ _ I am… unsure. You must go find out…”. _

Elliott furrowed his brows for a moment, wondering why they sounded so…  _ odd.  _ ”Okay… I’m gonna go see what I can find,”.

There was a small pause before Bloodhound giggled softly.

_ “Do you… do you know I just found?”. _

“Uh… that’s gonna be a no from me, buddy,”.

_ “A f- fifth of Major Bueno tequila from the creek,”. _

He blinked, “Please tell me you aren’t drunk, Bloodhound”.

_ “NO!” _ They exclaimed, making Elliott sigh with momentary relief,  _ “I am GETTING drunk,”. _

Okay… they’ve lost it.   
  
“Hound, I don’t want to ‘harsh your vibe’ but uh, maybe… just  **maybe** that isn’t such a good idea right now?”.

They giggled again, “Oh, Elliott… Elliott, Elliott, Elliott,”.

“Hound, please...”.   
  
_ “You are… harshin’ my vibe. I am thinking... I  _ could _ just stay up all night worrying that I am going to lose my job due to this new site fire. Or, I could not worry and allow the chips to fall where they may. It is not like they have any proof we were down there...”. _

“Well,” he sighed, growing slightly annoyed that they could get hammered out of their mind and he couldn’t, “I think I’m just going to follow this wave receiver, have fun with your drinks”.

_ “Ooh, I like it when you think,”. _

All Elliott could do was roll his eyes.

***

The wave receiver lead him back to the rocky cliffs that stood a ways behind his tower, back where he saw the mysterious man staring back at him on his very first day on the job. Absently, as he pushed through a small stand of bushes, Elliott wondered if he was behind all this… after the events of the past few days, he wouldn’t be surprised.

With a weary sigh, Elliott stepped behind the bushes into a small opening pressed against the cliffside, furrowing his brows when he spotted a backpack tied to a scraggly tree… just, sitting there, almost like... bait. 

He swallowed thickly, holding the wave receiver closer to the pack and wincing when the sharp shrill of the machine only grew, “Shit…”.

Whether he wanted to not… he was going to have to pick the damn thing up.

“... well,” he muttered to himself, “Here goes nothing...”.

He reached out and took hold of one of the straps, slowly and gently lifting the pack away from the tree like it was a bomb ready to explode if he handled it the wrong. But nothing of interest happened… that is until he had the thing in his grasp, nearly screaming when yet another high pitched beeping filled the air around him. Elliott all but dove to the ground until he saw the alarm box tied to the tree, having been hidden behind the backpack, “Jesus… what the fuck? Who the fuck puts an alarm on a backpack?!”.

After taking a moment to recover from the scare, he grabbed his ax and drove it into the box, silencing it for good. “Uhg, this night could  _ not _ get any weirder,” he grumbled, finally able to get a better look at the pack, a set of keys clipped to the side catching his eye first, “What the…”. 

He grabbed it and flipped it around in his hand, grabbing the walkie-talkie with his free one.

“Um, hey Hound- I found some sort of supply bag. Light camping gear, some clothes… ya know the basics. But get this… the thing was alarmed. I think that’s what made the receiver go haywire…”.

_ “Are you okay? It was not a trap or anything?”  _ Bloodhound answered quicker than expected.

“Yeah, I’m fine, But… there’s also a set of keys here. I don’t- I’m not sure why they’d be hidden all the way out here. They say  _ Shoshone National Forest, Cave- 452.  _ Is… is that the one in the canyon?”.

The pause that settled between them was enough to make Elliott’s stomach drop.   


_ “Já… it is.”. _

Fuck.

Bloodhound sighed heavily on the other end of the line,  _ ”Who the hell took them?”. _

“And what the hell is in that cave. I think… I think someone is trying to keep us out of there, and now I’m not so sure the keys going missing was just an accident,”.

_ “You are suggesting someone hide them on purpose?”. _

“I mean… why else would the bag be alarmed?”.

They grumbled in frustration, _ “Okay, let’s just think…”. _

“Says the one with half a bottle of tequila in their system…” he muttered lightheartedly in return as he paced up and down the path, wondering what lied beyond the gates of that cave..

_ “Maybe they are panicking and were preparing to leave? The fire has them spooked and we have new radios so we have the upper hand…”. _

“Yeah, well… it’s hard to feel like you’ve got the upper hand when you’re standing in the dark in the middle of the woods…”.

They hummed softly and sighed,  _ “Well, you are back in your tower now, perhaps you could use a drink as well,”. _

Elliott paused and stiffened.

“W- what?”.

_ “I said ‘Perhaps you could use a drink as-’”. _

“No, not… I’m- Houd, I’m still out hiking. I’m nowhere near my tower”.

Bloodhound went silent for a moment.

For a lot longer then Elliott felt comfortable with.

“Hound?”.

_ “I am looking at a man standing in your lookout. And it’s not you?”. _

Oh fuck, fuck fuck.

“It… it’s not me,”.

_ “Oh Gods… GO!”. _

He didn’t need to be told twice.

***

There was a walkman taped to the door of his lookout… and no one in sight for as far as Elliott could see. “Well… whoever was here is gone now,” he said, picking up the walkman, “And he left me a gift it seems,”.

_ “What is it?”. _

“A walkman… and there’s a tape in here, so… I guess he wants me to listen to it,”.

_ “Drasl… just, just please be careful,” _ Bloodhound said, their voice growing wearier by the second.

He nodded to himself and pulled on the headphones, pressing play on the device and holding his breath.

The voices emanating from the cassette tape were low and graining, just barely loud enough to cut through the static… but it was clear who was talking:

_ “I am so sick of these bastards doing this to us! We should just burn the place down!” _ the voice of Bloodhound said _ , _ followed by him mentioning how dry the grass was, and how quickly a fire would spread.

“Oh no…” he muttered to himself, tearing off the headset and returning to the radio, “I- it’s a tape of us, Hound. It’s a tape of us talking down at the site. It sounds like it was recorded from somewhere nearby,”.

_ “Oh Allfather… this is bad,”. _

“No shit. And… it sounds like we were the once who burned it down- and that it was your idea,”.

_ “No…”. _

“We’re screwed…”.

_ “NO,”  _ Bloodhound repeated.

He winced at the sharpness of their tone.

“Hound, just… don’t freak out, okay? Don’t freak out,”.

But it was a little late for that.

_ “Oh Gods. WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING ELLIOTT?!?!”. _


	12. Day Seventy Eight

He couldn’t stop listening to the tape… playing it over and over  _ and over and over and over… _

> _ “I am so sick of these bastards doing this to us! We should just burn the place down!”. _
> 
> _ “-we should just burn the place down!”. _
> 
> _ “-burn the place down!” _

_ “I think I am going to be ill… _ ” Bloodhound said, having remained oddly silent as Elliott replayed the tape for them,

“It- it’ll be okay, Hound. We haven’t done anything wrong,” he reassured them, even though his voice was full of doubt. He knew they were both innocent, that was a given, but…. He just wished he could guarantee the part when they’d both be okay in the end.

_ “Someone claiming to be “Elliott in Two Forks” called a lookout in another sector early this morning and said that I knew what caused the Wapiti Meadow fire…”. _

“Uh…”.

_ “So, I just got off the telephone with that lookout who is now wondering what I know. Or if I am an arsonist. Or if I am fucking losing it!”  _ They took a shaky breath between words,  _ “Furthermore, I am positive you are not the only one who possesses the tape of us from last night. So someone has evidence to back it up… We need to find out what is hiding in that cave,”. _

“I’m going to head down there now,”.

_ “We do not have a lot of time left out here. If we don’t find answers when they lift us out, it is going to be in handcuffs,”. _

“We just have to stick together, okay?” Elliott said, tossing his backpack over his shoulder, hoping his words would provide some comfort, “We keep out story straight. From the first day with those girls, to the person beaking in our conversation, everything. We gotta be honest and consistent,”.

They sighed heavily… which was something they were doing more and more often… and Elliott could tell that they were far past the edge of there rope.

_ “I-... I suppose that is the wise thing to do,” _

“I know… it’s gonna be alright, okay?”.

There was a long pause before anyone replied.

_ “I hope you are right…”. _

* * *

There was a layer of smoke hanging low on the ground as Elliott trekked back down to the canyon. It’s stung his eyes and burned his nostrils, an almost welcome sensation that kept him distracted from the weight of his thoughts…

There wasn’t much chance for him if he got arrested. With the reports of his mental health and the breakdown he had that sent him here in the first place, they’d lock him up in an instant, blaming him on starting the fire even if they found something that would counteract the cassette that made him and Hound sound like the culprits.

_ “Elliott?”. _

He blinked, finding himself looking out over the canyon.

“I’m here…”.

_ “You… you didn’t actually make that call, did you? To the other lookout?”. _

There was fear in their voice again, enough to make Elliott’s heart squeeze in his chest.

“ _ It… it is just stuck in my craw. I let myself imagine how fucked I would be if you had been lying to me, but now that I say it aloud, I am beginning to wish I hadn’t asked”. _

“I don’t even know how to call anyone other than you,” he said, continuing down the rocky path, dropping down into the cave where the gate was, “And please rest assured I would have found someone with a better sense of humor a long time ago,”.

Bloodhound chuckled softly.

_ “Ha.. okay. Thank you,”. _

A small smiled broke across his lips as he pocketed his radio for a moment and pulled out the set of keys, timidly walking up and unlocking the secrets that hid beyond it rusted red gates. It was… scary down there, if he were being honest, he’d gone spelunking once on a field trip for school and had to be carried out half an hour in because panic and sudden claustrophobia got the best of him.

“Oh geez, this is going to be fun...” he muttered, yelping when the gate suddenly slammed shut behind him after he’d gone but a few feet in, “What the hell?!”. He rushed up to it again and tried to push it open, feeling panic already setting in when he found it had been locked from the outside. “Fuck. Hound, Someone just locked me in the cave…”.

… only dead air responded.

“Is this thing working?” he asked, smacking the walkie-talkie. 

Still nothing but the echo of his own voice.

“BLOODHOUND SEND SOMEONE TO THE CAVE. PLEASE!!”.

But it was no use.

“I can’t get any damn reception…” he said, kicking the gate in frustration as he looked around the cave for any possible way out, “fuck… fuck, I’m going to die down here...”.

The only seemingly way forward was a large shale slide that went down a good hundred feet or so, and with no anchors to tie down his ropes, going down that way was out of the question unless he had a death wish. “Jesus, this cave is big,” he muttered, continuing to search the small cavern.

In the far left corner of the cave, small rays of light broke through a pile of loose rocks that looked almost as if were blocking the way further into the cave. Elliott stared at it for a moment and then grabbed the ax off his back, “Well, if I cause a rockslide, maybe someone will hear it and find me…” he thought… “If I’m still alive,”.

He jabbed the blunt end of the ax into a small opening and pulled, watching as the rocks unlodged themselves and revealed a small crevice just big enough for him to squeeze through. He sighed softly in relief and looked behind him at the still locked gate, wondering if he should stay put or risk becoming lost in the vast cave systems like the people Bloodhound had once described.

“Well… here goes nothing,” he muttered, figuring that, at the very least, someone knew where he was. So he pushed forward, ignoring the looming feeling of dread that hung over him as he inched his way deeper into the cave, 

The drop in temperature was almost immediate, and Elliott struggled to suppress a shiver that sent a tingling sensation up his back as he explored deeper, signing with mild relief that there was somewhat of a path to follow. It took him a good five minutes before he saw bright orange sunlight shining at the end of the tunnel system, smoke heavy air greeting him as he dropped down into the open forest.

“Hound? Hound are you there?” he said, immediately pulling up his walkie talkie the second his feet touched the ground.

_ “Já, já, what is it?”  _ they replied,  _ “Have you found something?”. _

“Nothing yet. Because  _ someone _ tried to trap me in there!” he exclaimed, his breath shuttering slightly, “Closed the gate right behind me…”.

_ “You saw someone?!”. _

“No, they just ran off after locking me in. I found another way out, but if I hadn’t… Jesus!”.

_ “Allfather, help us… so, so you did not find anything?”. _

‘Not yet,” Elliott said, trying to figure out where the hell he was now on his map, “There’s a spot where someone has sunk an anchor, but the hardware’s long gone…”.

_ “Drasl… I don’t have any climbing equipment with me,”. _

“And I just have my ropes. I’m going to try and make my way back to Two Forks and see if I can find anything that could double as an anchor to use in the spot,”.

_ “That sounds… safe,”  _ Bloodhound replied doubtfully,  _ “Do try to be safe, I do not wish for you to relive the first time you tried to go down a shale slide…”. _

He chuckled bitterly at the memory, as he continued on until he reached a small outcropping tucked away in the corner of the cliffside. “Hound, I just found an outcropping that someone was using as a little fort. I- I think it was Brian Goodwin…”.

_ “...Really?”. _

“Yeah, built himself a real castle out here,” Elliott said, rummaging through some of the papers left scattered about, “Hey, remember that pack I found on like… my second day here? The one with the ropes?”.

_ “Yes, I recall. What about it?”. _

“I found a plan Brian drew about how he was gonna get it back,”.

Bloodhound chuckled, “ _ Oh, I am sure it was elaborate,”. _

“It’s some “Wile E. Coyote” shit. I’ll tell you that much, and as an almost engineer myself, I am impressed,”. He bent down another paper that looked almost like homework, “Umm, Brian was doing some science fair project about bouncing radio waves off of a meteor shower…”.

_ “He left his homework?”. _

“Looks like. Kid must have been pretty smart, huh?”.

_ “Sharper than most of the knuckleheads I’m used to, so yes,”. _

A smile pulled at the edges of his lips, “Is that your way of saying I’m one of those knuckleheads?”.

_ “I wasn’t, but… now that I think about it,”. _

“I know lots of stuff, tons in fact,”.

They hummed with amusement,  _ “Oh please, drown me in your surplus of knowledge. I have been waiting all these years for a man as wise as you to take this job,”. _

“Well that wait’s over sweetheart,”.

_ “Call me ‘sweetheart’ again and you will be using that big sexy brain of yours to fll out your unemployment paperwork,”  _ Bloodhound teased.

Elliott chuckled and rolled his eyes, “Sorry, boss”. The next item that caught his eye was what looked like a school folder, “It’s a little weird that he’d just leave so much of his stuff out here, isn’t it?”.

_ “Well, perhaps they were in a hurry when they left. As I said before, He wasn’t supposed to be out here,”. _

“Yeah…”.

_ “I, um… they almost got busted, you know. Brian liked to go out on the railing of the tower and wave at the planes that dumped water on the fires. I got a call because someone thought a kid was up in Two Forks, and I lied and said it was only Ned. If I had ratted them out they would have been forced to leave and, I don’t know, I suppose I felt as if I was saving him from whatever shitty life Ned was going to bring him back to… not that it mattered in the end. I - I hope he is doing well”. _

Elliott did too. Brian sounded like a really cool kid.

“There’s a HAM radio schematic here, looks like something Brian was working on,”.

_ “Ah, I recall that was one of the things Ned did with him, tinkering on stuff like that,”. _

“Damn… I wish my dad did shit like that with me growing up,” he muttered to himself, picking up a busted electronic game thing,”.

_ “Yeah? I quite enjoy Pong,”. _

“Everyone likes Pong,”.

Bloodhound sighed softly, “ _ Brian had everything he loved out there, it is unlike a teenaged boy to just  _ leave _ such things _ ”.

That was true but, it was also like teenaged boys to be forgetful.

“There’s also a postcard here from Brian to, um, I’m guessing his neighbor? Says that he’s with his dad and he’s sorry that he can’t mow his lawn this summer… and that he was worried that his dad wouldn’t know when school started. Huh, I’d say that that’s a lucky break if I were him,”.

_ ‘That does not surprise me. Ned did not seem like a, eh… ‘with it’ father,”. _

“I can relate,” he muttered, picking up a small pouch of anchors, “Huh, looks like Brian stole his dad’s climbing gear. His anchors ‘n shit,”.

_ “How convenient,”. _

“Indeed. I think he was gonna hide them in a cache box or something and never got around to it. He left a note here for a ranger to find them and send them back to Nebraska,”.

_ “Because he hated climbing?”. _

“Looks like. I think Ned was pushing him and pretending to lose his anchors was the easiest was to put a stop to it,”.

_ “I hope it worked. What a fáviti…”. _

Elliott nodded to himself, as he finally moved and continued making his way back to the caves “Couldn’t have said it better myself,”.

_ “I wonder what is in there, _ ” Bloodhound wondered aloud.

“I mean, it could be anything. What do  _ you _ think?”.

_ “Well, whatever it might be, they do not wish for you to tell anyone about it,”. _

“They closed the door when they could have just…”.

_ “Bashed your head in with a rock or, chopped you up with a-”. _

“Bloodhound… are you  _ trying  _ to freak me out? Cause it’s working,” he said, dragging a hand down his face in disbelief.

_ “- hatchet. Gods, are you sure you want to go back in there?”. _

“Honestly I just, ugh, I just wanna know. I want to know what is worth doing everything that’s been done to us, ya know?”.

_ “Já, me too. And not going to jail would be nice too,”. _

“Huh, yeah, that’d be a plus. I think I’m getting close to where the cave started again, so if I suddenly cut out, you’ll know where I am, okay?”.

The was a hesitant pause before Bloodhound responded.

_ “Okay… be safe and radio me the moment you get out of there,”  _ they said _. _

“I’ll try to make it quick, I got a decent layout of the place the first time I was there, so…”.

Another pause.

Elliott paused in his steps just outside of Cave 452, the secrets within lying but a few feet away.

_ “So… this is it then…”. _

“Yeah… we’re finally going to get to the bottom of this shit,”.

A soft sigh emanated from the other side of the radio, before they said anything else,  _ “I will be waiting,”. _

“... okay. I’m heading in now,” he said, hesitantly pulling the radio away from his face and back into his pocket, “See you on the other side”.

* * *

The silents that followed was deafening, and Elliott immediately wished for their voice to return, but… he knew he had to face whatever waited for him below. So with the anchor anchored into the wall, and the rope dangling down into the unknown, Elliott began his descent, winding through the network of caves until he came into a large space, a single beam of light breaking through the darkness.

And in the center of the room was….

Elliott felt his heart and stomach drop.

“Oh no…”. 

Slowly, he inched closer to the figure that lied motionless on the cavern floor.

“Are you… oh god,”.

There was broken climbing gear surrounding the body, followed by a pile of rocks that covered its head.

“You fell…”.

He looked up at the steep, rocky shaft beside him.

“Your… stuff gave out, and you fell”.

It was horrible to look at, and Elliott couldn’t help but look away and wonder what the hell he was going to tell Bloodhound. 

This was going to crush them…

“I’m… I’m so sorry no one found you sooner,” he said, carefully and slowly stepping over the body, “I’m going to get Search and Rescue out here and make sure you’re laid to rest”.

He knew that getting the authorities involved would mean being questioned about what he found, which also meant that Bloodhound would be questioned alongside him, and that was going to be a feat in itself. Elliott felt almost sick and dizzy as he climbed his way out of the cave, the image of the dead, almost mummified body having ingrained itself in his mind.

Eventually, heavy smoke-filled air reached his lungs as Elliott pulled himself out of the cold crypt below his feet, taking a moment to regain his bearings.

“...Hound,” he muttered dismally.

_ “There you are. I have been worrying my ass off, _ ” Bloodhound said, sounding equally relieved as they were worried,  _ “I have some news! Those missing girls turned up. Looks like you didn’t kill them, nobody did,”. _

“Hound, just… just listen-”.

_ “They took a farmer’s tractor for a joy ride down in Riverton and landed in jail. So we don’t-”. _

“Bloodhound” Elliott muttered again, sharper this time, enough to make them stop mid-sentence.

_ “Elliott? What- what is it?”. _

“I- I need you to sit down,”.

_ “I am sitting. I’m almost always sitting. What’s wrong… what- what did you find?”. _

He swallowed audibly, “Hound, the only thing in the cave was… was a-... a body”.

_ “A body? Gah, what a mess,”. _

“Hound it’s… it’s Ned. It’s Ned’s body down there,”.

The lack of immediate response that followed was like a shot through the heart.

_ “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me… how does that, what- I- I don’t…” _

There was a break-in their voice, followed by a confused whimper of sorts. 

_ “How?”. _

“Climbing, I think. The ropes around him still had the anchor attached,” he replied, “It… it must have been so fucking scary for-”.

Elliott paused, and Bloodhound shifted loudly in their chair on the other side of the line.

_ “Brian…”  _ they both said at the same time.

“Oh fuck…”.

_ “I’m calling Search and Rescue…”. _

“That poor fucking kid. You, fuck, you said you saw him  _ 3 years ago,  _ Hound. I’m-”.

Elliott stood in the smoke-filled canyon, completely stunned.

“He’s still out there…”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	13. Day Seventy Nine

Elliott did his best to ignore the burning amber skies that surrounded him, and the heavy smoke that burned his lungs with every breath he took. There was so much on his mind, and so much going on that simply packing away all his things just seemed so… trivial. Bloodhound had gotten the call last night, all lookouts were getting airlifted out of the insane inferno that was the Shoshone sometime the next day, so they needed to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

He picked up the still shattered picture frame of his mother and brothers and sighed. “Oh, ma… what the hell did I get myself into,” he muttered to himself, tucking the frame safely in his pack. He couldn’t even begin to fathom the thought of watching your parents die right in front of you, leaving you alone to fend for yourself for god knows how long… but, he supposed Bloodhound knew all too well.

They’d been quiet most of the day, aside from a few sputtering coughs that crackled over the radio. _“Smoke and I do not mix well,”_ had been their brief, evasive reasoning, which Elliott didn’t question further, knowing that he wasn’t likely going to get an answer.

He sighed again and continued to clean out the tower he called home for the past two and a half months.

 _“Do you see that plane?”_ Bloodhound’s voice suddenly asked.

“Um, no, I was just busy packing up” he replied, taking a quick glance out the window, “Is that my ride?”.

_“No. They are here to help put out the fires… so expect to hear more. The service says it is 2% contained”._

Shit… that was bad.

That was really bad.

“Is this the Evelyn Fire or the site fire, or…”.

_“Unfortunately, the two fires merged in to one unmitigated disaster. They’re renaming it after my lookout… Are you about packed up?”._

“Umm, shouldn’t we talk for a sec?” he asked, settling down on his cot for a moment, “You know, about… things?”.

_“About what… about the fact that Brian is still out there? That S &R essentially told me to go fuck myself as there was no way they were going to open up a 3-year-old undocumented and unreported missing person case in the middle of the worst fire in the last few decades? That it is my fault he could be out there all alone or DEAD? All I had to do was tell the Forest Service he was out here... Is that what you wish to talk about?!”. _

Their breathing was heavy and uneven, if not slightly raspy by the time they finished their rant, choking back a cough.

“... Hound,”.

_“It's as if the universe cooked up the cruelest thing to have happened. I may not have liked Ned, but he did not deserve to die… Brian didn’t need to see him die,”._

“We don’t know if he’s-”.

_“I am trying to be optimistic, Elliott. I really am, but do you truly believe a 16-year-old could survive in these woods for that long?”._

Elliott hesitated with an answer, even though it was clear what the answer was.

_“I want to see him home… one way or another,”._

He sighed heavily, “Yeah… I guess you’re right,”.

There was a long pause between them, the tension still high and heavy in the air, almost thick enough to cut. He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he was expecting them to have… finding out that someone you knew, someone cared about, someone you felt _responsible_ for, was dead was… _devastating._ Elliott knew first hand, _they_ knew first hand. But… it still didn’t soften the blow.

“Are… are you gonna be okay?”.

There was no response.

Not right away at least.

There was a soft sigh, followed by the sound of gently settling wood that emanated from the other side of the line. _“I was 6 when I watched my father die,”_ Bloodhound said, _“He had taken me hunting the first winter I was able to wield a knife and protect myself. We were to stay in a small cabin across a large lake, which had frozen over to allow for safe passage…”._

Elliott swallowed the lump in his throat.

_“Or that is what we thought. My father had placed me on his shoulders as he tested the ice as we walked, telling me the ways of old, and how my ancestors traveled these lands for centuries. He had become so caught up in his stories that he did not notice the brittle ice below him until it was too late._

_We were both submerged in an instant, unable to gain any purchase on the ice around us to pull ourselves out. It… it was cold, so very cold down there, and dark, a crypt. It should have been where I died, Elliott. But I did not... I was small, but I was not veikt. I fought and fought as my father begged me to save my strength, but I refused until I found a stable piece of ice, and got myself out of the water._

_It was a small victory, not many would be able to save themselves from such a situation, especially not a child, but I turned to my father with pride, that I had shown strength and vigor in the face of death… but-”._

A soft, whimper passed over their lips.

_“He was gone. I watched as he floated away as I screamed for him to return, begging the Gods not to take him from me. Perhaps a small part of me believed that I could somehow call upon the Allfather’s power to save him but I realized soon after such things were not possible in this life, þrátt fyrir nafna minn. So, I did as I was taught… I completed the journey,”._

Elliott found himself holding his breath, staring blankly at the blistering orange skies in disbelief and sorrow.

_“My uncle found me in the cabin four days later, nearly dead from hypothermia. The gods had blessed me with the ability to construct a fire, and forage for food, gifting me with a large elk-skin shawl that had once belonged to my mother… she, in a way… kept me alive long enough for him to find me. I wept for my father, and he wept for his brother, and when I was strong enough to make the returning trek back to the village, we did not speak of it again until spring, when the lake thawed and we were able to give him a proper burial"._

Bloodhound didn’t speak of their mother, ever… and Elliott wondered if this was the first time she was formally mentioned. He didn’t dare pry into that story, just as they didn’t pry into the story of what happened to his own father.

_“For 10 years Artur raised me, for 10 years my uncle taught me everything my father could not… and I grew into the person you see, eh… hear? before you today. I owe him my life, and… if I was able… I would give it to him in an instant. Hann ætti enn að vera á lífi í dag, and it is because of me that he isn’t…”._

“...What?” he asked, unsure if he should even be interrupting. 

But Bloodhound continued…

_“I was young and reckless… dumb, a hálfviti. I was nearly 17 when I was sent on my rite of passage, to earn my place in the village... a time-honored tradition when I was no longer seen as a child… but the beginnings of a mighty hunter who must earn their name. The task was simple, hunt the bear that had been terrorizing our village... and slátra the beast. I did… or, I thought I did. I found the beast’s layer and wounded it, leaving it to bleed in the forest as I toated one of its claws away as a prize._

_I had expected my uncle to be proud of me, taking down a creature ten times my size was an extraordinary feat. But, he scolded me for not giving the bear an honorable death, and leaving it to suffer, which… I will admit, I was wrong for… and I paid for my mistake dearly. In the small hours of the night, the bear had wandered back into the village and on its rampage, it slaughtered many good men…_

_I watched Artur go down, disappearing under a flurry of brown fur, but I did not cower. I took the knife my father gifted me all those years ago and attacked the beast with all my might, drawing it away from the village”._

There was a long pause, Bloodhound sighing heavily after a moment.

_“I do not recall what happened after that… I- I had woken up back in my home a day later. I had been told that I was found a mile away from the village, nearly torn to shreds while the bear lay mangled beside me. In my fury… I slátrað the beast. My path for vengeance brought me nothing but pain… the death of the bear would not bring back my uncle, but my village was safe,”._

Elliott was speechless, not sure what he could say to console them.

_“I still dream of them… wake up screaming in the night for my uncle to run, or for my father to return…”._

“I’m… I’m-”.

 _“Apologies aren’t needed, elskan,”_ they said, cutting him off before he could even get the word out, _“All I want is to find Brian, a child shouldn’t go through that alone, and he has been alone for far too long,”._

“Well,” Elliott said with a soft sigh, “Let’s bring him home…”.

****

In truth, there wasn’t much they could do, if anything, not with a raging fire closing in on them, but Bloodhound told him of all the caves, and possible hideouts a teenage boy might use as shelter. “I’m… I’m not even sure half of this stuff will still be here if they put this fire out,” Elliott admitted, scratching his head as he scanned over the map, “If it’s not gone already…”.

 _“He’s smart, so… if he is still here, he would know how to avoid the fires,”_ they said, choking back another cough, _“Drasl, it is getting bad out there,”._

“Are you okay?”.

_“Hm? Oh… yes, it is just getting a bit smokey in here, and opening a window isn’t exactly something I can do at a moment,”._

“Shit, the fire is that close to you?”.

_“It’s close enough… now, do you see the-”._

Their words were cut off by the shrill of the wave receiver.

“For fucksake… what now?” he grumbled, “What else could possibly be out there?”.

_“I- I don’t know, it could be nothing…”._

“Given our luck, do you really think that? I mean… it could be whoever was listening in on us, whoever made the tape,”.

_“... you have a point. You should pack everything you need just in case we get the call and you aren’t able to return to your tower,”._

“Alright… yeah, I’ll do that. But, um… look, if something happens…”.

 _“I’ll remember you,_ ” Bloodhound replied, causing Elliott to do a double-take.

“Uh, I was hoping you’d have a backup plan or something,”.

_“Oh, um… I will probably go move to Canada, Ontario, perhaps… maybe even move back home,”._

“I - I meant if something happened to me…”.

_“Já. If you don’t find out who made the tapes and I have to hit the road,”._

Elliott blinked and shook his head, “Okay, I really can’t tell if you’re joking or not… “.

 _“Be safe out there, elskan,”_ They said with a light, nervous chuckle, “ _And yes, I am joking… I would not leave you, we will leave this place together. I promise,”_

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” he replied, “I think I owe you dinner,”.

_“Ha, yes… I believe you mentioned your world-famous pork chops at one point, and I’d very much like to try them,”._

A smile twinged at the edges of his lips. 

“It’s a date then,”.

A comfortable silence fell between them as Elliott climbed down his tower for what might as well be the last time, trekking through the orange-tinted forest in search of whatever signal the wave receiver had picked up.

 _“What’s your status?”_ Bloodhound said after a good, silent 15 minutes.

“I’m getting close,”.

_“Alright, well… I have just received word that they are coming to get us. My place,”._

“... you sound worried. Everything okay?”.

_“Yes… I mean, it- it’s just…”._

He hesitated for a moment before asking: “Brian?”.

They only sighed in response, _“I’ll coordinate with the evac team and let them know when you head towards the tram. It’s North, Far North. Past where you found that cut back in May,”._

That was a pretty good way away from where he was now, but… he was going to have to make his way to the tram one way or another. “I’ve got a hit on the wave receiver, so... Once I find what our mystery person left for us, I’ll start making my way, okay?”.

Bloodhound hummed, _“I will see you then,”._

“See you then,” Elliott said, clicking off the radio as he once again faced _Widowmaker Jr._ “My old nemesis, so we meet for the final time,”. 

The climb down was… odd, for a moment he was brought back to his first real day on the job when his rope snapped and he almost died when he and Bloodhound stayed up through most of the night as they consoled him as he tried to fix up his trashed tower... when all there was to worry about was what job was next on some metaphorical list. He wished he could go back… but, this was reality and, as fucked up as it was, there was a silver lining on the horizon.

Elliott stiffened up slightly when he finally reached the spot where the signal had led him, his name sketched into the rocky cliff side in bright yellow chalk, above it; tied to a rope; was yet another tape. He looked at it curiously, finding some sort of tracking collar lying discarded nearby, which was probably what set off the device in the first place.

“Hound? Someone left a rope for me to climb up. I’m down near the lake,”.

_“What? How do you know it’s for you?”._

“Well, _somebody_ wrote my name on the rocks down here,” he replied simply, “And that someone was leading me down here, and… there’s another tape,”.

_“Oh Gods, Elliott,”._

“Well,” he muttered, as he swallowed the lump in his throat and pocketed the radio again, “What do you have to say now…”.

He took the tape and placed it into the cassette player the stranger had left him a few nights ago, trying to shake off the waves of anxiety that washed over him as he took the rope and began to climb.

The voice that greeted him was… not what he was expecting.

_“Uh… hi, Elliott. You’d better find this before it burns up,”_ said an unnervingly young-sounding man, _“We’ve been causing each other quite the headache, eh? Now I’ve gotta stake out another site that’s as fit for living as the one I ditched. Not gonna tell ya where that is though, that’d be too easy, now wouldn’t it._

_You can’t blame me for being cautious… keeping an eye on ya. ‘Specially not after bumping into you back in May. Down by that cave for fuck’s sake._

_I’ve been up here for… I don’t know, 3 years now? Kept it cozy, winters are harsh, ran outta books. But I managed to get that antenna all rigged up and Bloth, that’s what I used to call them- well, they’re a record you don’t gotta flip. I guess I can see why you took to them,”._

Elliott furrowed his brows in confusion and awe as he finally reached the top of the shale slide, startled to find that he could almost clearly see his lookout tower from down here.

_“About a week ago, I figured you two were done poking around the place but… fuck, I was wrong, I was so fucking wrong,”_ the voice continued, _“I just… I figured that… if I fucked around with the anchors, dulled them down a bit, then dad wouldn’t make me climb. But he did, he took my anchors and was aimed on teaching me a lesson on how to do shit right. I tried to tell him not to use my anchors but… by then it was already too late. But you gotta know, you gotta understand, I never meant to kill him. I never meant for my dad to die…”._

Realization struck Elliott like a punch to the face.

_“I- I thought about calling for help, getting someone out there to help, but… I- I didn’t see the point. I had nowhere to go, he was my only family. And I’d have rather rotted at the bottom of that cave than be sent to some fucking foster home where I’d be tossed around until I was 18. This was… the better option,”._

_“Don’t come looking for me,”_ the voice of 19-year-old Brian Goodwin warned him, _“And… I’m sorry about your mom. I know what it’s like,”._

Elliott blinked, standing completely dumbfounded in the middle of a smoky clearing. After a minute of silent thought, he reluctantly grabbed his walkie-talkie and made the call. “We found the surveillance operation…” he said, voice eerily monotone.

 _“Okay… what does that mean?”_ Bloodhound answered, _“What did the tape say?”._

The words refused to leave his mouth, and all Elliott could do was let out a pathetic whimper.

_“Tell me, Elliott… what did it say,”._

“Hound, I don’t-”.

_“Please…”._

He swallowed the lump in his throat and signed, nodding softly to himself. “It- it was Brian. He was the one listening in on us… just him, no one else. He… he messed with his dad's anchors, and Ned fell and-”.

There was a pause, such an uncomfortably long pause that Elliott began feeling sick to his stomach.

 _“... don’t lie to me. That is a fucked up idea of a joke, Elliott,”_ they hissed.

“I’m not! I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this. I- I have the tape, I’ll prove it to you,”.

More silence.

More, defining silence.

“Hound… please,” Elliott begged, tears stinging his eyes almost as much as the smoke was, “I wouldn’t lie to you…”.

A ragged, tired sigh echoed over the mic.

_“You… you need to get back here. They say the helicopters are making rounds…”._

“Bloodhound-”.

 _“Just get here,”_ was all they said before the radio went silent.

Elliott struggled to catch his breath, which he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. He knew that they’d have a negative reaction to finding out the boy they thought was dead, was the reason they were stuck in the worst fire the Shoshone had ever seen, but still…

“Fuck,” he muttered, dragging his arm roughly across his face as he pushed forward, slowly making his way towards the tram, through the thicket and brush that was likely going to be gone within the hour.

He walked.

And walked.

And walked.

His mind was racing with so many thoughts that his body just went on auto-pilot, which was something he tended to do as of late. How, how could a kid, how could _Brian_ do something like this, stalk and harass people just to protect himself? It didn’t make any sense… but at the same time, it did.

He didn’t know Brian, but… he’d known him enough through the stories he was told to feel the slightest bit betrayed by this new revelation. Bloodhound felt betrayed, that was a given, and Elliott wished he was there with them, to console them… to…

 _“I know I should be relieved… relieved that there is no evidence of us starting that fire_ . _Relieved that we aren’t crazy, that there wasn’t some conspiracy…”._

… to hold them.

_“But I’m not…”._

He wished he knew what to say.

_“... he was a sweet kid,”._

“...”

_“I can’t believe he’d do something like this…”._

“... I think it was an accident. I don’t, I really don’t think a 16-year-old is capable of plotting murder. Ned was just… _pushing_ him, and Brian needed a way out…”.

_“And how did that turn out, Elliott?”._

After a weak sigh, Bloodhound’s voice softened.

_“Sorry. Gods, it would have been so easy to just tell the truth and have him sent home. That was Ned would still be alive and Brian… Brian wouldn’t have to live like a fucking hermit. I can’t stop thinking about it…”._

“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”.

_“Yes, Elliott. Yes, I did. And now I’ve got to decide whether or not I tell people about the body down there, so they can retrieve it. And if I do, I’m likely going to be asked about Brian…”._

They stifled a sob that dissolved into a hoarse cough that lasted longer than normal.

“Hound?”.

 _“I’m f-fine,_ ” they muttered weakly, ” _just hurry, the helicopters should be here soon, I can hear them in the distance”._

He paused for a moment and thought. “When they come by, I want you to go with them,”.

_“What?”._

“Go with them. It’s not safe out here for you. I’ll be there soon, okay? You said they were making rounds, so I’ll catch the next one... we’ll meet up after that,”.

 _“Not s- Elliott, I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I’ll be fine, you don’t need to-”._ As if to prove them wrong, another violent cough sent feedback through the radio. _“I can hold out for a while longer…”._

“I’d rather you not die to smoke inhi- inhila, fuck… I’d rather you don’t die from breathing in too much smoke before I’m able to meet you in person...”.

Bloodhound muttered something foreign and painfully cleared their throat.

_“...fine. But I will stay here as long as I can and let you know when I leave. How is that?”._

“It’s better than nothing, I guess. I’m getting close to the tram… still about 20 minutes away, think you’ll be good for that long?”.

_“I’ll be fine. But take care of yourself as well, I heard word that the fire was close to jumping the river near my sector, so don’t be alarmed if you stumble across any fleeing wildlife. There has been a rather stubborn raven keeping roost near my tower these last few hours…”._

“Uh… isn’t the river like, really close to your tower?”.

They hummed. _“Yes, but I believe it is a few good miles downstream. If it were closer, I would smell it, and they would have evac-ed me far sooner,”._

That really didn’t ease his worry. “But the smoke…”

_“The reason the smoke is so bad is because of the winds. I am fine, elskan… please, focus on getting here so we can leave this horrid place. Okay? I don’t wish to be here a moment longer,”._

He wanted to argue more, perhaps suggest that they try to flag down the helicopter from their tower and simply pick him up at the ravine, but… there was no need for useless bickering when the world was quite literally burning down around them. “Alright… you win, but I just-” he began, only for Bloodhound to cut him off.

 _“Drasl, hold that thought,”_ they continued in their muttering as they shifted around their tower, a low thudding sound echoing in the background, _“I will be right back, the raven has returned and is assaulting my window… hmm, kannski er það merki?”._

Before Elliott could ask what they had said, the line went quiet.

“... you’d better be back,” he muttered as he continued on, absently wondering why a raven of all creatures would be sticking around when they could simply _fly_ out of Shoshone. 

The thought stuck with him as he walked, and eventually he grew curious about how all the other animals, the bears, raccoons, squirrels, the elk… basically all the woodland creatures who couldn’t fly, escaped the flames… of course, the answer was grim and obvious but it kept him distracted until he finally reached the small tram that spanned across the canyon. 

Elliott sighed and pulled up his radio, “Okay, I’m at the evac point near the ravine,”.

Only silence greeted him.

“Bloodhound, are you there?”.

The static crackled angrily over the walkie-talkie speaker.

“Hound?”.

Still nothing. Elliott wondered if the fire had finally reached the comms tower and cut off their communication, or if they were trying to hail down the helicopters like he’d thought, or… maybe they left without him. He pushed that thought far in the back of his head, knowing that there was no way Bloodhound would just up and abandon him like that, not when they were so close to getting out of this hellhole. 

He tried not to focus on it too much, feeling confident that they would keep true to their word.

After much hesitation, he finally hopped on the rickety tram who’s wooden floorboards creaked and groaned under his weight. “Ah shit…” Elliott whimpered, grabbing on to the metal railing for dear life, “Just… pull yourself across, Elliott… easy-peasy, you’ll be on the other side in no time,”.

 _You’ll be there in no time,_ he told himself with a huff, grumbling that it took far longer than what he’d liked to admit to get even halfway across the ravine, but, eventually, Elliott was once again met with solid ground.

“O- okay… Jesus that was a workout, but I’m like… 2 minutes away now,” he muttered breathlessly, wiping away a bit of sweat that had formed on his brow, “Any word from the evac squad?”.

No answer.

Elliott smacked the side of his radio for good measure.

“Bloodhound?”.

Nothing…

 _Where were they?_ he wondered to himself, beginning the trek up to Thorofare Tower, choking down a harsh cough of his own. 

The smoke was… thicker here, heavier… _darker._

He couldn’t ignore the heat either, it felt like he’d walked straight into a kiln, the wind feeling hot enough to burn his skin. It felt wrong and Elliott highly doubted that the different sectors had different weather patterns so why was there such an extreme change in temperature…

He quickened his pace.

“Bloodhound, answer your radio,”.

Nothing, _still nothing._

He broke out into a light jog, his eyes and chest stinging as the smoke thickened.

“This is Elliott Witt of Two Forks Tower calling Thorofare. Do you copy, I repeat, do you copy?!”.

Elliott began running as angry, silent static answered him.

“Fuck,” he hissed, only stopping when he became aware of a thin layer of… _snow_ covering the ground and speckling his hair. Only, it wasn’t snow, and Elliott realized that it was, in fact, ash… but it wasn’t the same stuff that floated around his sector, miles and miles, and miles away from any flames. 

And that meant only one thing.

“Bloodhound, get out of your tower, NOW!”.

His words continued to go unheard, until finally, with ragged breaths and screaming lungs, Elliott reached Thorofare Tower.

And promptly, stared at it in complete awe and horror.

For as far as the eye could see, there were flames, large, angry red flames that licked and danced around the structure, a mix of metal and wood that groaned and creaked with the intense heat. It was no doubt that the fire had jumped the river, quickly making its way up the hill and destroying everything in its path.

“BLOODHOUND?!” Elliott screamed, standing there stunned for a moment before tossing down his pack he running up the thankfully still intact stairs. Nearly all the windows were shattered, thick, blinding black smoke poured out making it impossible to see anything, or anyone, inside. “BLOODHOUND! Can you hear me!?” he yelped, burying his nose in the crook of his elbow as he dared venture further into smoke. 

The door was, of course, sealed shut and with no windows close enough to reach in and unlock the it (he knew better than to touch a metal knob in the middle of a fucking fire), and no safe way to crawl through the windows without getting torn to shreds, Elliott was left with little choice.

“Stand clear of the door!” he cried, hoping they’d hear him before he rammed his shoulder into the wooden frame, grunting as the wooden frame creaked and shifted in place. While he wasn’t exactly the burliest man to ever live, over the course of the summer Elliott had grown stronger from heaving himself up and down the shale slides that surrounded his sector and easily made little work of the door that blocked his path. “It’s almost down!” he continued, trying to ignore the hot, blistering pain that spread throughout his arm and shoulder, “I’m almost there!”.

And, with one final shoulder charge, the latch broke and Elliott found himself falling forward into the smoky abyss. 

He hit the ground with a painful thud, immediately feeling the heat of the flames surrounding him as he slowly began crawling along the floor, hoping to find… _something,_ something _alive_.

“Please… please be okay,” he wheezed. 

There were an alarming amount of things that littered the ground, ranging from papers and books, leaves from a nearby tree that had fallen inward, likely causing the fire to reach the tower in the first place, and, of course, glass from the shattered windows that dug and buried themselves into his skin.

But Elliott continued to push forward, ignoring the pain until the tips of his bleeding fingers were met with the soft material of someone’s shirt.

“... Bloodhound,”.

As soon as he was close enough to grab a wad of their shirt, he slowly and painfully began dragging them closer to him until he had his arms wrapped under their shoulders, desperate to get them away from the angry red flames that glowed threateningly through the smoke. 

“Oh god, oh fuck… fuck, Hound! Can you hear me? Bloodhound?!”.

He couldn’t see their face, let alone tell if they were breathing or not, but as he fumbled for their hand and placed a shaking few fingers on their wrist, Elliott sighed with relief when he found a pulse, albeit a bit more sporadic than it was supposed to be.

“O-okay, I’m-” another painful cough cut his words off, “I’m gonna… get you out of here,”. 

There was next to no reaction from Bloodhound as he began heaving their limp body back towards the door, and Elliott could only hope that they weren't too badly hurt. “I’ve got you… ” he muttered weakly, pushing himself forward despite the pain that surged through his body, “You’re going to be okay... y- you’re safe now,” . 

He struggled to get them down the stairs, a constant throbbing pain filled his head and made his hands feel numb, splotchy black spots slowly beginning to cloud his vision. Elliott almost lost his balance a few times because of it, and even worse he nearly lost his grip on Bloodhound as they took small, equally desperate breaths that shook their whole body.

“Y- you’re safe now,” He wheezed again, struggling to keep his grip on them as a violent cough tore through his chest.

Elliott fought off the impending darkness until he got himself and the unconscious Bloodhound a good ways away from the burning watchtower, flopping down on the ash-covered ground with a soft thud. He struggled to catch his breath for a moment before scrambling over to them and getting his first real look of their face.

Despite being covered in a thick layer of soot, under all that muck, Elliott could make out light, jagged scarring that ran down the left side of their face, stopping at the edge of their jaw. Their hair was long, a deep red color that was tied back in beautiful braids that wrapped around their head and formed an even longer braid. They were slim but built, looking to be a lot stronger and muscular than he could ever dream to be...

Bloodhound was... beautiful, handsome, _gorgeous,_ all the words, there weren’t _enough_ words to describe them.

“...Hound?” he whispered, placing a trembling hand on the side of their face, tracing his thumb over their cheek, “Can you hear me?”.

Their breathing had steadied some but was still strained and harsh sounding.

“Come on, buddy… just open your eyes, let me know you’re okay,”.

Far off in the distance, Elliott could hear the soft, low hum of a helicopter.

“I just need to know that you’re okay…”.

The fire continued to sizzle and hiss around them.

Then, after an excruciatingly long pause...

Bloodhound answered him with a small, incoherent mumble, letting him know that, at the very least, they could hear him.

“That’s it… Hound, come on now just open your eyes... follow the sound of my voice. I’m right here, okay?” Elliott continued, cringing in pain as another round of harsh coughing overwhelmed him,” p- please… I can’t, I can’t lose you too,”.

_I can’t…_

_I’m not… strong enough._

He pulled them onto his lap and shut his eyes, praying to any god that would listen, that they would be okay.

“... please…”.

Elliott wasn’t sure how long he sat there just… _holding_ Bloodhound’s limp body, but he was suddenly aware of a hand resting on the backside of his shoulder. At first, he assumed it was a firefighter there to take them out of the hellish inferno that surrounded them, but, after a moment, he realized who it belonged to.

He gently peeled himself away from them to find two half-opened blue and green eyes staring up at him.

“Bloodhound?” he whispered.

A small, timid smile pulled at the edges of their cracked lips. 

“I d- did not expect our first meeting to… to be like this,” they muttered with a painful sounding chuckle that ended in a cough, “But you make a good first impression,”.

He just stared at them, slack-jawed and in awe, unable to find anything to say, but actions seemed to be the only thing he had left to rely on. They made a small _squeak_ sound in surprise when Elliott grabbed them and held them closer, tears streaking down his ash-covered cheeks. He didn’t care that he was sobbing on them, not that they seemed to mind, he was just so overwhelmed with relief that he didn’t dare hold back.

With a weak, tired smile, Bloodhound chuckled again and wrapped their arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. “There, there, elskan… it’s okay,” they whispered. 

It was becoming pretty clear that they were in a state of shock, and Elliott was almost certain that he was too but… right in that moment, it didn’t seem to matter.

“Y- you’re, you’re okay,” he finally managed to mutter between a mix of sobs and coughs, trying desperately to ignore the constant whirring, buzzing sound that plagued the air around them, “I thought… I- I thought you- oh god,”.

He didn’t want to think about what might have happened if he’d gotten there too late.

“Oh god...”

Bloodhound said something to him in their language, something of comfort no doubt, but stopped mid sentence when they reached up to rest their hand over his, only to draw it back and find it stained with blood. That seemed to sober them up almost instantly, drawing them back to reality. 

“...Elliott?”.

“...you, you said you’d go with them, why- you could have, you almost…”.

“Elliott, you’re bleeding,”. 

“There was so much smoke and- and glass, and… and smoke and I-”.

“Elliott!”.

As gently as they could, Bloodhound pulled themself away from him and took hold of his hands, gasping softly at the amount of blood that stained both of their clothes and just how badly his whole body was shaking. They looked up at him with fear filled eyes, “Elliott, you’re hurt…”.

He blinked and took a shuddering breath. He’d gotten so caught up in everything happening around him, that he’d nearly forgotten about the pain surging through core. The darkness he had fought so hard to keep away was now starting to creep up on him, and Elliott could feel himself start to slip into unconsciousness.

The whirring sound was louder now.

“H- Hound, I’m… I think I’m gonna..”.

Were those footsteps?

He couldn’t tell anymore.

“I’m gonna… pass out,”.

He felt himself fall forward into Bloodhound’s arms, and heard them yell for help as his world began to dissolve into blackness.

Who were they calling?

Why were there so many new voices?

Elliott tried to keep his eyes open to find out but…

As his world began to fade into darkness, he couldn’t help but find himself thinking...

_I wonder how mom’s doing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by me :3  
> it took 6+ hours and is my best work yet. I hope you enjoy!!


	14. Day ???

Elliott hadn’t the slightest clue how many days it had been since he and Bloodhound escaped the Shoshone, a good majority of which he was sure he spent unconscious. He’d gone through the wringer, and, according to a good handful of doctors and nurses that hovered over him at almost every moment, he was lucky to be alive. Any longer in that inferno and he and bloodhound would have been burnt to a crisp.

He’d taken in a good amount of smoke, gashed up his hands pretty good from the glass, and dislocated his shoulder to the point where the doctors were almost certain that it wouldn’t heal right, leaving him with a possible lifetime of pain.

Things from the day he woke up were still hazy at best thanks to the absurd amount of painkillers and sedatives he was on, but he vaguely remembered opening his eyes just to find himself in a white room. He was alone, aside from the sound of machinery and quiet beeping of a heart monitor, and it would have stayed quiet if he hadn’t panicked, ripping the I.V and oxygen mask off his face and arm, only making the beeping worse. 

The room, the noise, the nurses rushing in...

It reminded him far too much about that fateful summer night, 13 years ago. When his mother frantically drove them down the highway, breaking almost every traffic law imaginable along the way only to arrive at the E.R moments too late. He remembered Garett, Wyatt, and himself being forced out of a room with a faceless form hidden under a white sheet lying motionless on a stretcher, while his mother tried to push through, screaming for her baby to wake up. He remembered the faces of his brothers as they all realized what was going on, he remembered coming home and passing his oldest brother’s now forever empty room, he remembered- 

“Mr. Witt?”.

Elliott couldn’t help but flinch, blinking away his thoughts as he put on a fake smile and looked up at the nurse staring at him from the doorway of his room.

“How are we feeling today, Mr. Witt?” she asked again.

“Well,” he mumbled softly, trying to ignore the dull throbbing pain that coursed through his bandaged up hands that sat in his lap. “It’s a lot easier to breathe on my own, not as painful as it was before. But, um… my hands are still a bit numb, and I can feel my heartbeat through them if that means anything to you. But the plus is that at least I can feel my fingers now,”. He chuckled softly and fought back the urge to rub at the back of his neck, “No real change with my shoulder though, ‘xcept it sorta itches under this damned cast,”.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can do to help in that regard. But, if it’s still hurting you, I can give you something to ease the pain a little more”.

“Nah, I think I’m good… but um, I do have a small,  _ little  _ favor to ask ya… and It’d definitely be better than any other painkiller you got”.

“You know I can’t tell you other patient’s information,” the nurse said with a tired sigh, finally walking in and milling about the room as she checked over his vital signs, “So you can stop asking now,”.

“Oh, come on! I came here with one other person and I‘d at least like to know if they’re alright, is that too much to ask? I pulled them out of a fire for fuck sake, and I haven’t heard anything about them since I woke up,”.

“Sir, I’ve told you time and again. There were 5 others airlifted out of the Shoshone on the same day, and none of them went by the name of _Bloodhound._ Besides, even if there were, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. But… if it’ll get you to stop asking- _”._

Elliott perked up, wondering if he finally broke through to the nurse.

“-All five survivors are pulling through nicely with mild injuries and will be released within the next few weeks,”.

Well, it wasn’t exactly what he was asking but… at least he was reassured that Bloodhound was doing alright. Better than he was at least. “Any clue on when I’ll be released? I um… I’ve got other people I need to check up on...”.

“We’re aware, and we’ve refrained from sending word out to your mother about your condition until you’re well again,” the nurse continued, “It’s not the wisest choice, but I don’t think telling her that her son was in a near-fatal forest fire would be good for her health,”.

“Yeah… no shit. Plus I have no clue how long these debriefing things with the NFS are gonna take, so I’m not even sure when I’m gonna see her again,”.

“Well, I can tell you that you should be out of here soon, likely next week given your shoulder needs to heal a bit more before we send you home. And the Doctor wants to keep an eye on your hands, make sure there’s no lasting nerve damage,”.

Elliott closed his eyes and suppressed a small shudder, not wanting to think about the damage this summer’s adventure has left on his body. “Let’s hope it’s nothing too serious,” he muttered, “Am I at least free to leave the room now that I’m not hooked up to those damned IVs all the time? I really don’t wanna start getting bed sores from lounging around so much,”.

Even though he couldn’t see her face at the moment, Elliott was sure the nurse was rolling her eyes. “You can… as long as you stay on this floor and don’t try to leave. And I believe that means you’ll try to look for your friend you’ve been going on about the second I have my back turned, doesn’t it?”.

He shrugged and chuckled softly, “What else did you expect me to do? The heart wants what it wants, and whatnot. And it’s not that I don’t trust you or anything, I‘d just like to see them with my own two eyes, ya know?”.

She sighed heavily and shook her head with a small but visible smile. “Good luck with that, Mr. Witt. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if you get caught snooping around other patients’ rooms. Just be back in a few hours, the doctor wants to look over you again before sending you off for more X-rays,”.

Elliott nodded dismissively, practically shooing the poor nurse away until she finally disappeared from sight. It killed him to wait, but he sat there for a good few minutes before kicking off the thin sheet draped over him and hopped out of bed, smoothing down his hospital gown (thankful that they’d given him sweatpants for underneath) as he sauntered out of the room with a shit-eating grin on his face. It felt good to get out of the room, see something other than the same four walls with the stain in the ceiling in the shape of Ohio, but outside his room was chaos.

Doctors and nurses rushed by, clipboards and stethoscopes in hand, some carting patients on gurneys to god-knows-where. It was loud too, phones ringing off the hook, nurses, and technicians calling out codes he hadn’t the slightest clue what they were meant for. Elliott held down the anxiety that bloomed in his chest and pushed forward, dodging out of people’s way as he made his way through the hallway.

The nurse had told him offhandedly that he and the rest of the bunch rescued from the Shoshone were all placed on the same floor, so finding Bloodhound shouldn’t be too difficult if he was able to keep his bearings and not breakdown into a full-blown panic attack. So maybe snooping around a busy hospital with not so great memories tied to being in a hospital wasn’t the best idea but… he would survive, he could get through this, especially if it meant seeing the still mysterious hunter in the flesh again.

Though the memory was foggy, Elliott could still remember how it felt to see Bloodhound for the first time. They were real, a real tangible person… they were someone who he talked to for months… and never saw, only knew them through the sound of their voice. On long quiet nights, when the loneliness of isolation finally caught up to him, he wondered if he’d imagined them, created a fictional person in his head to keep him company. But they were real, he could remember the rough fabric of their shirt clutched in his blood soaked hands, the trio of scars that ran down their face… their voice.

A voice was unmasked by radio static.

Oh how he longed to hear their voice again.

Elliott shifted, blinked, and continued walking, hoping that any of the rooms he passed had names on the outside of them. Most of them were generic… like Smith and Rodriguez, making him realize he hadn’t the slightest idea of what an Icelandic last name would even be, let alone look like.

“Um… can you help me find someone,” Elliott asked, finally walking up to one of the receptionist after ten minutes of trying and failing, hoping that his charm and good looks were enough to win her over, “They’re got this deep red, braided hair, different color eyes, some scars… real nice accent too,”.

The tall woman simply stared at him, looking him up and down, before shaking her head.

He tried giving her big pleading eyes, but her hand ominously hovered over the security call button, which made him back off immediately. 

“Thank you for your time, ma’am,” he sputtered as he quickly zipped away, tipping an imaginary hat to her.

This was… harder than he thought.

Elliott hadn’t realized just how big the floor was, and how many rooms there were, how many people.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and shuffled off to the small sitting area, where other people waited to see loved ones of their own. Vaguely, Elliott remembered a time when he was in their place, sitting and waiting for word on his mother who had somehow gotten herself across town without him knowing some few years ago… he was scared to death, coming home to find the doors unlocked and his mother nowhere to be found. He cried when he got a call from the police, followed by the local hospital, expecting the worst.

Elliott shook his head and sighed, settling down on one of the empty chairs and gently lying his face into his hands.

There was a lot going on… his mind was finally catching up to him now that he wasn’t cooped up in that room. Everything felt a lot more real, the pain in his shoulder, the numbness in his hands, the throbbing, still semi-painful breaths he drew.

“Fuck…” he muttered.

What if…

What if he never saw them again?

He didn’t know where they lived, he never even got their number, and he was starting to realize that Bloodhound might not even be their real name.

“God, damnit,” Elliott muttered again.

This whole summer, this whole damned summer… was for nothing?

He hadn’t opened up to anyone like that, not even with Seth, and now…

Now he was going to be alone again, unable to face his mother.

Because Elliott Witt never got a happy ending.

_ “ _ Um _... _ excuse me?” _. _

Elliott jumped when a new, yet almost familiar accented voice sounded above him. He looked up to see a tall, wiry woman standing in front of him, she had a duffle bag slung over her shoulder, large rimmed glasses framing her face, and a deep mustard yellow beanie hiding her short red hair. He stiffened and sat up straight, momentarily wondering if the nurse had actually called security on him. 

“Oh, um… hello?” he mumbled awkwardly. “I’ll uh… I’ll head back to my room if I’m stirring up trouble,”.

“No need to do that,” the woman said, “I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help but hear that you were searching for someone? A red-head with heterochromia?”.

Elliott furrowed his brow and nodded slowly.  _ Did I really ask loud enough for people to hear?  _ He wondered before responding: “Y- yeah actually. We met over the summer, ended up here ‘cause of a fire… I- I’m not sure what their real name though, at least… I really doubt that it’s actually  _ Bloodhound, _ ”.

“Sá hálfviti er enn að nota þetta nafn?,” the woman muttered to herself, soft enough that Elliott couldn’t hear, “Follow me, I think I know who you’re looking for,”. He blinked and remained still, watching the woman take a few steps forward before turning around to face him. “Up, up! I don’t have all day waiting around, I have people to see too,”.

“Oh, oh!” Elliott scrambled to his feet and shyly followed behind the woman, wondering if perhaps she was visiting someone in the neighboring room to where Bloodhound was. “Um… so do you know if they’re okay? The person I’m looking for? I haven’t really heard from them in longer than I’d like,”.

“Oh, they’re fine. Chatty as hell, stubborn as a mule, keeps talking about some guy they met,”.

A fierce blush crawled across his face.

“Yeah?”.

“I’m assuming that's you,”, the woman said, pausing momentarily and looking him up and down with a neutral face, “I expected you to be taller,”.

The blush grew deeper as Elliott turned in an attempt to hide his face, wondering what else Bloodhound had blabbered about him… clearly enough that a  _ stranger _ could judge him on his height. “So um… who are you visiting? I-if you don’t mind me asking…” he said, trying to change the subject of his height… or lack thereof.

“I’m visiting my sibling who nearly got themself killed being a dumbass,”.

_ Oh…  _

He was definitely curious now.

“I told them that they were going to get in trouble like this eventually, but did they listen? No, because ‘ _ I am a grown adult, I do not need you to parent me, that is what mother is for’. _ Pftt, if our mother was here, she would knock them upside the head and call them an idiot,”.

“... harsh,” Elliott muttered, wondering what his mom would do… if she even remembered she had a remaining son.

They walked in silence for a bit, the hallways twisting and turning before the woman finally came to a stop in front of a door labeled:  **_Johannsbur_ ** . “Well, this is our stop. They’re in here,” she said simply.

“Oh wow… thank you! I- um, I really appreciate this!” He said, reaching for the door when the woman stopped him with a click of her teeth and swat of the hand, causing him to recoil with wide eyes, “.... sorry?”.

“You should be,” she said with a smirk, “Didn’t your mother teach you that ladies always go first?”.

Elliott blinked and took an awkward step back, growing very confused, “I… thought you were going to visit your sibling,”.

“I am,”.

He blinked again.

“But…”.

“My sibling, the dumbass who got themself caught in a fire and almost got themself killed, the one who won’t shut up about how much they miss their sweet _ elskan, _ ”.

Elliott’s eyes widened even more, “Oh....  _ shit. _ Then you must be…”.

_ “Estrid? Is that you out there?” _ the familiar voice of Bloodhound said from behind the still closed door, the shear sound of it nearly taking Elliott’s breath away.

The woman smiled and turned her head to the door, “Já, já… It’s me. And I found someone milling about for you. I believe he’s the man you won’t shut up about,”.

Bloodhound had spoken about their older sister a few times, but not enough that he would recognize her by sight, or name… and now Elliott had gone and made a fool of himself in front of her. “Oh, god,” he muttered, covering his face with his bandaged up hands in embarrassment, “Oh my god, I’m an idiot”.

“They had me patrolling the halls in search of you, you know. I had much better things to do, but I suppose I don’t have to look anymore,” Estrid said, finally opening the door and stepping inside, knowing that he probably wouldn’t have been able to open it himself, “Now, get inside and see them, there will be time for proper introductions later,”. 

Elliott nodded, dumbly following her into the room and doing his best to slink along the wall, not sure why he was so anxious about seeing Bloodhound. It was a bit scary if he was being honest, finally meeting the person who had so quickly won over his heart, ya know… after they nearly died in his arms?

Or… was it the other way around.

But, seeing them, their long hair draping down to their shoulders, a few bandages covering cuts on their cheek, bright eyes staring at him with sheer glee, was enough to chase all the doubts and fears he had.

They said nothing at first, just smiled and waved shyly, mouthing a small hello.

He did the same, unable to find the words to express his thoughts.

Thankfully, Estrid was there to give them the push they needed.

“Well? Are you going to speak or are you just going to stare at each other like idiots,” she said, smiling warmly as she walked up to Bloodhound’s bedside and rubbed their head, scruffing up their hair, “This is the first time in 3 weeks that you are quiet, and now that you finally see each other you’ve got nothing to say? Cat got your tongue, systkini? Or should I say:  _ Blóðhundur?”. _

That seemed to snap them out of it, causing them to groan in annoyance and push her hand away. “Fuck you, Estrid,” they said, trying and failing to suppress a chuckle, “I just want to look at him, this is the first time I truly get to see him! And I am not a baby anymore, you don’t need to lector me,”.

“You say that and yet call yourself by your childhood nickname, does he even know your real name?”.

The siblings both turn to Elliott, his face growing bright red again under their gaze.

“Do you know their name? Or just that stupid nickname,” she asked.

“It’s not stupid!” Bloodhound protested, “Tell her it isn’t stupid, Elliott,”.

He chuckled softly at their bickering, fondly remembering a time when he and his own brothers were the same exact way. “I… I’ll be honest and say that I thought your name was actually Bloodhound, um… Bloodhound. I didn’t know you had a different name,”.

“That’s because Bloodhound is my name!” they said, “It’s much nicer than… than…”.

They mumbled something quiet, clearly not wanting it to be heard.

“What?” Estrid said, playfully elbowing them in the side, “I couldn’t hear you,”.

Bloodhound crossed their arms and huffed. “It’s better than,  _ Aesir _ … there, I said it. My name is Aesir Johannsbur,”.

“Aesir,” Elliott repeated absently, the name flowing easily over his lips, “I like it…”.

That earned a smile out of them, “Thank you, elskan… but I still prefer to be called Blóðhundur,”.

“Why? You’re the one that chose  _ Aesir _ ,” the woman pointed out, gently whacking their arm, “Do you really want to change it again?”.

“I never said that… It’s just, the nickname means a lot to me,”.

Elliott stood there, watching Bloodhound turn away in what he could only assume was embarrassment, the reason why the name was so important to them, slowly making itself obvious.

“... it’s your Hunters name, isn’t it,”.

At that, however, the smile faded, and they stiffened, turning to him with momentary confusion before realizing that before the Shoshone went up in flames, they had in fact told him of their rite of passage. Absently, they reached up and dragged their fingers along the trio of scars tracing down their face.

“He had given it to me as a child, long before he passed,” they said, eyes suddenly distant, “He always saw the makings of a hunter in me,”

Estrid blinked and turned to Elliott, then back to them, “...Artur?”.

Bloodhound nodded, a soft almost wistful chuckle passing over their lips, “ _ Lítill Blóðhundur will be the best hunter the Gods have ever seen, _ he would tell me _.  _ Since the day of his passing, I began to carry the name he gave me, to honor his spirit… I owe him as much,”.

“... Hound,” Elliott said, taking a small step forward.

“It is not a burden or a punishment,” they reassured with the wave of their hand, “It's a reminder of his life and an honor. I make him proud by wearing the name he never got to see me earn”.

“Þú verður að segja mér svona hluti, asnalegur!” Estrid scolded, followed by a heavy sigh as she turned to look at Elliott, “We will talk about this another time, we’ve had enough family squabbles in front of your elskan. Now… I am going to call mother and tell her how you’re doing today, so I will be outside if you need me, okay?”

Bloodhound nodded, silently watching as their sister gave them a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and walked to the door, pausing momentarily beside Elliott and muttering: _take care of them,_ before finally exiting the room and leaving the duo alone at last.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke, Bloodhound clearly catching the confused look on the man's face at the mention of their mother. “Our parents divorced when we were young. Estrid decided to live with my mother in America and I stayed with my father in my home country until I was 18… I don’t think she’s forgiven me for not joining her,”.

Elliott nodded, wondering if he should share the fact that his own father walked out on them at a young age as well but… he decided it was best to just keep that to himself. So he just stood there, shifting softly in his place, cheeks flush and heart pounding, aching to be closer to them but unsure how to approach. 

“You can come closer,” they said, “I don’t bite,”.

His blush grew worse. “I- I know, I just…”.

“Nervous?”.

He nodded vigorously. “I… I was worried about you. I didn’t know what happened to you when I finally woke up. I just… remember pulling you out of the fire and… not much after that. No one would tell me anything,”.

“Same as me,” they said, summoning him closer, “You passed out in my arms when the evac team finally arrived and I followed soon after. Smoke inhalation is… not fun,”.

“No shit,” Elliott replied, finally taking a single step forward, “...Are you okay? I remember you saying something about you and smoke not mixing well,”.

“Já, I’m... okay. My childhood accident left my lungs a little… damaged,”. As if to prove that fact, they turned their head and hacked another cough, a painful wheeze escaping their throat, “I will be fine, though. And what about you, I noticed your hands were bandaged up and your shoulder...”.

Elliott stepped closer and held out his hands to them, allowing them to gently take and examine the wads of gauze. “Well, I had to crawl through glass to get to you… a real 0 out of 10 experience, would  _ not _ recommend. And… breaking down a door with your body is a lot harder than it looks in the movies”.

“Oh Elliott,” Bloodhound cooed softly, “Elliott, Elliott, Elliott,”.

With each murmur of his name, Elliott shivered slightly.

“How… how did your tower catch on fire? You told me the fire was nowhere near you,”.

Bloodhound didn’t look at him, eyes still trained on his hands.

“I… suppose I underestimated how quickly the fire was spreading. The raven I told you about… I believe it had tried to warn me of the danger but… it was already too late. The tree came down so fast, and…”, they let their words trail off, clearly not wanting to talk about the event anymore than he did. “So… I see you met my sister,”.

A small smile broke out on Elliott’s face, thankful for the change in subject. “Yeah… she found me moping around in the rec area… apparently she overheard me asking about you so she came up and led me here,”.

“I’m glad she did,” Bloodhound muttered softly, looking up at him with bright eyes, “I’m glad I finally get to meet you. Even if it’s under conditions that aren’t exactly ideal”.

A deep blush settled on his cheeks, “Me too… I- I wasn’t sure if I was ever gonna. These past few months have been just…”.  _ Riddled with absolutely mentally and physically traumatic experiences that are going to haunt you for the rest of your life?  _ Elliott chuckled, “Well. they’ve been crazy, to say the least,”.

“You can say that again. And they will only get crazier with how the NFS handles these situations, I do hope you like answering lots of questions,”.

“Shit… how long do you think the debriefs will take? No offense but I’d much rather be spending my time healing up and… um, ya know, getting to know you better?”.

They smiled brightly at him, placing their hand over his own, “We will have plenty of time for that, elskan. For now, we have all the time in the world,”.


End file.
